Smoked almonds

Budgeezer

Brined for a couple of hours. Placed in a pan with holes punched in the bottom. Dusted with rub and smoked with hickory for an hour @ 250 dome. Good but I think they can be better. If you have done them what is your recipe?

Tjcoley

Not smoked almonds, but a great spiced nut recipe. These are the bar nuts from the Union Square Cafe in NYC. Ingredients 2 1/4 cups (18-ounces) assorted unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons Maldon or other sea salt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter. Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm.

Budgeezer

@tjcoley we have tried a similar recipe with cashews with great success. Thanks for your input.

Black_Badger

Hey @Budgeezer, this was my stab at them. Turned out nice.

Cheers

B_B

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1154842/something-new-smoked-bbq-almonds#latest

STLHomeFires

I love making these every fall.  I always have a problem with them sticking together.

SoCal_Griller

I made the ones from the Charcuterie book and they were crazy good.  Basically cold smoked raw almonds that are then tossed with EVO and a spice rub.  

Budgeezer

@SoCal_Griller can you share some of the details of your cook?

Hungry Joe

I soak my almonds for about 20 minutes then dust them with a mix of 60% salt 40% cayenne pepper ground up fine in a coffee grinder I use as a spice grinder. Then I sprinkle turbinado sugar letting them get all nice and gooey while roasting them indirect on a raised grid at about 375 until they start to turn a little dark. I keep adding sugar as long as it keeps dissolving then one last sprinkle to give them a nice coarse texture before taking them off. Total time roasting is around 30 minutes. If they are dry too early to dissolve the sugar I sprinkle some water on them.

My wife calls these almond crack because they are hard to stop eating once you start.

Hungry Joe

Here is what mine look like just before they are gone.

 

revolver1

Were they crisp or soft?  Mine always end up soft.   >:P

Hungry Joe

Mine are crisp. If yours are soft try soaking them less. I think the reason most people soak is to get the spices to stick but soaking too long is what makes them soft. I found that after grinding my spices to powder in a coffee grinder they stick just fine if I soak for 10 minutes.

revolver1

Thanks Hungry Joe, I'll give it a try.

Budgeezer

Gave it another try last night.  Brined for 1 hour, then allowed to dry, sprayed with olive oil and rubbed with Bad Byron's butt rub.  Smoked with cherry and apple for 1 hour.  Far superior to my first attempt, quite a bit crunchier.

SoCal_Griller

Hey BudGeezer,

Sorry for taking so long to reply.  Here ya go:

Take 1 pound raw alomonds and COLD smoke for 2-3 hours, depending on how much smokiness you want.

Toss the almonds with:

• 2 Tbl Veggie Oil
  
• .25 Tsp Cayenne
  
• .5 Tsb garlic powder
  
• 1 Tbl fine sea salt or kosher salt
  
• 2 Tsp Chili powder
  
• 1 Tsp black pepper
  

Then place in a 350 oven to roast, stirring several time for about 10 - 15 minutes.

So Basically: Cold Smoke -> Season -> Roast

I wonder if you did a Hot smoke if you could then skip the roast...

Budgeezer

@SoCal_Griller thanks for the recipe.  My attempt last night gave me the smoked crunchy results I was hoping for, I don't have the option to cold smoke yet. )

revolver1

Lets see who agrees.  Sam's has almonds 3 lbs/13.00+,  bulk food has raw almonds for 9.00+.  I'm thinking get the Sam's product and cold smoke them.

Budgeezer

I picked up mine @ Costco.