Cold smoking almonds - AMS + Natures Way apple wood pellets

paqman

I received an AMS a few weeks ago and I will use it for the first time today to smoke almonds.  I am planning to let them smoke for ~3 hours.

chris123stock

Looks good, I bet they turn out amazing. 

double

Very cool interested to see how they turn out. Just used my AMS again last night for bacon. I heated it up in the oven for 20 min and it went all night without going out. Great little device.

SoCal_Griller

I have made them twice following the recipe in Charcutrie.  The first batch I took to work and they were a big hit.  Now my coworkers are offering to buy the almonds so I can keep them supplied.   I smoked them for about two and a half hours, 3 should be great.

jeroldharter

That's a great device for smoking nuts. I like almonds best. pre-salted taste much better than plain.

paqman

double said:

Very cool interested to see how they turn out. Just used my AMS again last night for bacon. I heated it up in the oven for 20 min and it went all night without going out. Great little device.

@double Why did you heat it in the oven?

paqman

SoCal_Griller said:

I have made them twice following the recipe in Charcutrie.  The first batch I took to work and they were a big hit.  Now my coworkers are offering to buy the almonds so I can keep them supplied.   I smoked them for about two and a half hours, 3 should be great.

I'm following the instructions from Charcuterie but I will use a different mix of spices

double

@paqman it seems some people had a problem keeping it smoking for a long time in colder temps. AMS said that they had a client report back that heating the unit full of pellets In a 200 degree oven for 20 min helped with lighting. I have done this now on both my bacon batches and never had it go out. Outside temp has been below 50 on both occasions

paqman

double said:

@paqman it seems some people had a problem keeping it smoking for a long time in colder temps. AMS said that they had a client report back that heating the unit full of pellets In a 200 degree oven for 20 min helped with lighting. I have done this now on both my bacon batches and never had it go out. Outside temp has been below 50 on both occasions

Good to know. It was my first time using it and the fire did not go out. Outside temp was between 15F-20F. Thanks for the advice, I'll put it in the oven next time just to be sure.

Chubbs

I will be using the oven method next. Has gone out both time I have used it.

Wolfpack

@paqman how did these turn out- just got mine today. For those that have done these I assume they aren't the sprouted nuts? What do you use?

paqman

@Wolfpack - I used plain whole almonds from Costco. I only cold smoked almonds once. Right after smoking the almonds, they had an "ashtray" taste and I almost threw them in the garbage. Someone suggested to let them mellow for a week or so in a ziploc bag. They ended up being ok but not great. I mostly used them on grilled romaine.

I now hot smoke them @ 350F on the egg with chunks of hickory or maple.

This is the recipe I use. I substitute the sugar/salt mixture with a spice blend or rub. Dizzy pig raging river is always a winner. Swamp Venom is also really good. The recipe calls for 12-15 minutes in the oven, in the egg it is more like 20 minutes.

HONEY ROASTED ALMONDS
2 c. whole almonds, skins on
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. almond or vegetable oil
Spread the almonds in a single layer in a shallow ungreased baking pan and place in a cold oven. Bake at 350 degrees, stirring occasionally, until the internal color of nuts is tan (12 to 15 minutes). Remove from oven and set aside.
Thoroughly mix the sugar and salt. Stir together the honey, water and oil in a medium size pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the roasted almonds and continue to cook and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed by the nuts (about 5 minutes). Immediately transfer to a medium bowl and sprinkle sugar mixture over all and toss. Spread on wax paper and cool.