Smoked Nuts
That’s right, I said smoked nuts as in almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc. I know it sounds really off the wall, but you gotta try this. It is really simple, quick, and addictive. For Christmas, I smoked almonds, brazil nuts, pecans, and walnuts to give as gifts.
The basic concept is roasting, but with smoke added. The key is buy raw nuts and not roasted nuts. The best place to find raw nuts for smoking is either Sam’s Club or Costco. You can find 3 lb bags of almonds for half the price of the local grocery store.
The Liquid: Mix a 2 Tbs of butter, with a good deal of honey (maybe 1/3 cup) and apply heat. Add apple juice to help thin it a little bit to get it to a consistncey that would “coat”, but not glob or stick. Don’t get too concerned with the measurements on this.
The Rub: 1 cup Dark brown sugar, 1 Tbs apple pie or pumpkin spice and 1 tsp cayenne pepper or Chipotle pepper. Again, don’t get too concerned with amounts, just keep to these general measures.
Place the nuts in the liquid. Stir untill they are well coated. Move to large bowl and apply rub as needed. Toss till evenly coated.
Place on one of those grill racks with the holes. Place in the smoker and smoke at 225-250 for about 2-2.5 hours. Remove and place on cooling racks or just cookie sheets. Move them around as they cool so that they won’t stick together.
Gave 9 pints out as Christmas gifts and they were a hit. The spicy almonds were the best in my opinion.