Brined Smoked Almonds


 
Shawn W

Shawn W

TVWBB Emerald Member
I did my first batch of almonds since Christmas on the new pizza screens and it worked out really well.

Brine:
8 C Water
1 3/4 C Kosher Salt

Stir to disolve salt. Fill brine container with raw whole almonds, 20+ cups.

Soak nuts in brine for 2 hours.

Drain, spread out nuts on screens and allow to air dry ... takes about a day.

Coat nuts in EVOO. Arrange nuts in a single layer on mesh screens.

Smoke at 200F for 4 - 6 hours. Use 1 - 2 handfulls of hickory chips per hour or keep 1 - 2 chunks smoking at any time in the WSM as a starting point. Rotate racks in stack every 60 - 90 minutes. Don't let them get too dark.

Pics Here, click the Brined Almonds link. These were smoked for 6 hours.
 
I was lucky enough to receive a pack of these in the mail from Shawn. These are fantastic. Shawn you did an awsome job on these and they are way better than Blue Diamond smoked almonds. Great job Buddy.
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Believe me, EVOO has been around a lot longer than Rachel Ray though it wouldn't surprise me if she thought she created it.
 
Here's a link to a rather lengthy thread on smoking almonds from last year that discusses some of the ins and outs.

I did a 3 lb. batch last week, brining for 2 hours, rapid-drying in 1-1/2 lb. batches with a blowdryer in about 15 minutes total, and smoking for 90-120 minutes at 200° with two small chunks of hickory. I left out (forgot) the oil coating, so they came out very dry roasted-like. The smoke taste was subtle, yet acceptable, without any of the off-taste from the previous attempt.
 
Glad to hear you got better results Doug ...

For anyone that wants to try it, one thing I can add is to try to use a small fire burning well rather than a choked down big fire (ie vents nearly closed) to get the 200F pit temp.

Just check the almonds and sample them as you go ... running the fire the way I do I get some highs and lows .... some batches have been as short as 3 hours before they have to be removed. Sometimes a portion of a pan has gotten a little too dark. These get a dousing of chipotle and then are allowed to dry.

The inspiration for the recipe came from a European smokehouse website who stated they did their almonds at 170F for a couple of days.

Maybe this cook would be better suited to electric smokers or Guru users.
 
Posted June 01, 2005 12:25 AM

What is EVOO? Is there a home made substitute? (As it probably isn't avilable here...)
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Thankfully, EVOO is one of things easily available here in that case!

These almonds are something I shall certainly be trying.

Andrew
 
**update**

I'm doing these almonds in smaller batches on the WSM now and finishing in the oven. I haven't altered the brine recipe or brining and air drying process described above. Doing it this way is giving me better and more consistent results.

I do three trays at a time (third rack is elevated between top and bottom racks).

I keep the LID temp at 200F or below and maintain a small well burning fire and add hickory chips to keep a steady smoke for 5-6 hours.

Then I remove the nuts and finish in a pre-heated 350F oven a single tray at a time for 3-5 minutes.

You really need to watch them carefully in the oven. They will swell, then very shortly thereafter they will darken. I remove them from the oven just before they darken.
 
I stumbled upon this (and the related) thread last week and am brining some almonds to smoke.

I have attached wine corks to the bottom of some pizza screens with holes on them using paneling nails so I can stack them on my upper grill.

I've seen a couple posts suggesting hickory or maple for smoke. Anybody have any experience/thoughts on smoking almonds with cherry or apple?

Thanks.

Ron
 
Anybody have any experience/thoughts on smoking almonds with cherry or apple?
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Cherry is my go to smoke wood. I think it would be great for this. I don't think you can go wrong with any wood really. If in doubt go light, you can always add more smoke next time.

I've mentioned upthread to let them sit a week or so after smoking, the smoke mellows.

I tried some persimmon chips with meat and I think that would be an interesting choice for almonds. That smoke smelled to me like melting Kraft caramels (little square individually wrapped ones), a sweet vanilla scent.
 
Thanks Shawn.
I ended up smoking them with 3 good-sized chunks of apple. It was pretty windy today and my temp went up to 265 and stuck there. I took them off after 90 minutes because I didn't want to end up with 3 pounds of burnt almonds. They taste great already and I'm anxious to see how they taste after a few weeks.
One thing I did differently on one pan was to dust them with chipotle powder after spraying them with EVOO prior to smoking. The heat is very nice. Pics attached (I hope).
http://picasaweb.google.com/10...53798/SmokedAlmonds#
 
I have made smoked nuts brined with balsamic vinegar, a little brown sugar and sea salt. My fishing partners mom would make them in the oven for us to take with us. She didn't add any smoke flavor though, that was my idea.
 
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