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Smoked almonds - failure and success - several pics...

Boccie
Boccie Posts: 186
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
My first attempt at smoked almond on the grill was a failure. Everything would have worked out great except I left them on a tad too long and burned them. What a shame. But next time I will cut the time and all should go better.[p]I cooked at 300deg and used plum wood for the smoke. I coated with olive oil and gave them a nice sheen. 30 minutes and stirred every 10.[p]I decided to cook on the lower grid and use the pizza stone rather than foil or a pan. This was fine but next time I will go with a pan with sides as I did lose a few almonds into the pit when stirring, even though I convinced myself I would be careful and not do that heh[p]I did a whole pound (approx 3 cups) which was a touch too much for the stone to only have a single layer but it worked alright.[p]
The smoker at work:
almond1.jpg[p]Pizza stone preheated and ready:
almond3.jpg[p]Tried my best for a single layer only:
almond4.jpg[p]30 minutes was just too long. Nice burned almonds. These went in the trash can:
almond5.jpg[p]
The next attempt went much better. I decided to use my veggie pan, which of course has many holes. I put some foil under it to block these, as I didn’t want the nuts burned like last time.
Used plum wood again, and the temperature at 350 this go. Stirred at the 10 and 15 minute mark, watching closely for any burning.[p]
Round two trying again:
almonds3.jpg[p]I salted as soon as they came off.
almondsdone.jpg[p]The end result was very good, roasted exactly right. The plum left a very mild flavor. Next time I will get the smoke very heavy as I think it could use a touch more.[p]I have roasted these in my oven before, and it works fine. However smoking them is what I really wanted to do. We did buy some hickory smoked almonds the other day and wow, not a good flavor at all. Hickory and almonds may not be the best combination, so I will avoid that effort.[p]Nikki just ate a couple and said these were quite good. She doesn’t even like almonds LOL. I think since they were roasted on the egg she is brainwashed into thinking they must be good. Maybe she is right who knows J[p]Boccie

Comments

  • Boccie
    Boccie Posts: 186
    Forgot to mention the second round was for 20 minutes, not 30 like the first one. Just right IMO.
  • Boccie,
    Those look really good, especially the second attempt. They are good for you, too![p]Mike in MN

  • Boccie,
    Yow, those look great. I never even thought of smoking my own amonds. Are you central valley, or do I just wrongly presume that fresh amonds are grown there? I will definitely give this a try.
    Nice job.[p]and my apologies if my geocentric view of agricultural production does not fully encompass a(l)mond production.[p]Pivotizer

  • Boccie
    Boccie Posts: 186
    pivotizer,[p]WalMart sells the raw almonds in the section that has pre-packaged nuts etc for cooking. No fresh almonds grown in these parts. It would be nice to have access to something like that though.
  • nikkig
    nikkig Posts: 514
    Boccie,
    Nah...not quite brainwashed. I still don't like salmon...even if it is on the egg. These almonds were much better than batch number one. Who knows...they might be all gone when you get home. I can vision them with some melted chocolate and caramel poured over them...heeeee :-)[p]~nikki

  • Brett
    Brett Posts: 56
    Boccie,[p]If you want a more smoky flavor on those, you might try roasting for longer at a lower temperature, say 200-225. Glad to hear things turned out well on the second go-round. [p]Brett
  • Boccie,[p]Sounds great. Thanks for the feedback. Blue Diamond makes a great (in my opinion) smoked almond - I believe they use hickory. I think I'll try your technique to make some. Smoked almonds are quite addicting, but better for you than most other snack foods. No cholesterol, high in antioxidants... yummmmmm[p]MapMan