Almonds


 
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Shawn W

Shawn W

TVWBB Emerald Member
I've made the reference topic almonds many times and I really like them. The powdered salt I sprinkle on doesn't stick after a couple of days, the almonds seem to suck up all of the oil.

Trying something new here ... I salt brined raw almonds for two hours in a strong kosher salt solution. Salt level seems really good. Don't think the almond skins could take any longer in the solution though ... they got a little soft.

They are drying now. I'm going to put a little oil on them then smoke them low for several hours.

Thinking I could put other spices or honey in the brine as well.
 
I bought eight wire mesh fry pan splatter screens from the dollar store for doing the nuts on. I removed the plastic from the handles and bent the handles up.

The nuts are drying on them right now. With 1 " spacers between I could fit many into the WSM.
 
Shawn

How did the nuts turn out? I'd really like to have some smoked almonds over the Holidays and am most curious.

Griff
 
I let them dry for a day. Then coated them in extra virgin olive oil.

Five hours in to the smoke, WSM running around 200F. I've really been pouring the smoke to em and they are getting quite a nice hickory flavor. Gonna let em go another hour then check them again.

Wish I had the digicam (wifey took it with her on her trip) I'd take a pic. I got about 24 cups on seven screens, stacked up with 2 2X4 chunks for spacers between each screen.

Gonna vacpac and give some away for xmas gifts.



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 mesh screens and allow to air dry ... takes about a day.

Coat nuts in oil. Arrange nuts in a single layer on wire mesh screens.

Smoke at 200F or less for 4 - 6 hours. Use 1 - 2 handfulls of chips per hour or keep 1 - 2 chunks smoking at any time in the WSM as a starting point. Keep notes and you can use more next time if you want them stronger.
 
Smoked nuts for 8.25 hours, used Maple Leaf lump. Some were a little dark but not ruined.

Finally got the smokey flavor in the nuts I was looking for.

Two points here: one, keep the pit temp at 200F or below. Secondly, six hours is likely where I'll finish next time.

Saltiness is great. Wonderful hickory flavor. No excess powdery stuff for salt and smoke taste, they are contained within the nut.
 
Shawn, I've smoked almonds and walnuts quite a few times. They always turn out great. I've sprizted them with tabasco sauce before smokin them and it adds a nice kick to them. You may want to try this on one of your trays next time.

Nick
 
These sound great... Both the splatter screens and the brining sound like fantastic ideas. I've done almonds a couple of times, but always at the end of another cook. I've put them in 10" pie plates about an inch deep, and smoked them for 3 hours or so at 275. Of course I had to stir them a few times. Each time I was a bit disappointed that the smoke flavor was weak, your method sounds like the cure.
 
Thanks Rob. It took a bit of fiddling to get the stack of screens built with 2x4 chunks, so I did not stir the nuts at any time but it didn't matter.

The smoke flavor is good, comparable in strength to store bought smoke FLAVORED roasted almonds. I will caution the dark ones I mentioned seem dark with smoke and the natural smoke of that intensity seems to have a bit of a dry edge, sort of like dry red wine.

Maybe we can add to the process to prevent that or cover it up. Honey or sugar in the brine? Any other sugegstions?
 
I did another batch tonight ..... about 24 cups on eight screens for 7 hours at 200ºF or less. The top screen had to be offset to get the lid on.

I put about 5 TBSBP honey in the brine for this batch, I don't really notice any difference (but the nuts do change for a week or so after they are cooked).

The smoke flavor of these nuts mellows after a few days. After a few days I thought the first batch was really fantastic.

One thing ... I think I have to try and find some stainless steel screens, these cheapos seem to be worn out after two uses. Either that or make a deal with dollar store owner for screens by the case.

I really like this method and plan to keep using it.
 
Shawn, you're intriguing me with your almond smoking project. You know, when I smoke cheese, I use pizza screens from a local restaurant supply store. They're inexpensive, and I think that the screen size would be plenty small to keep almonds from dropping through, although it would definitely have larger holes than the splatter screens. I've used my pizza screen numerous times on both smokers, and a trip through the dishwasher makes it good as new.

Keri C
 
Thanks Keri, I will have to check out pizza screens. Are they stainless steel by any chance?

I do like the handles on the splatter screens, but I could live without them. The salt brine seems to be tough on whatever coating is on the splatter screens and I figure stainless steel should be able to handle it.
 
A fellow poster on another board turned me on to this message board and man, am I happy! I just recently bought a smoker (not a WSM, I didn't know any better at the time) and have been enjoying the recipes and techniques here.

I have some almonds on the smoker right now. I got some of the splatter screens like you said, and they seem to be working.

Today, I went by Bass Pro Shops and they had some smoker baskets. They aren't on the website, I tried to link. They are a mesh, round, and the holes are small enough to where the almonds didn't go through. And, they have about a 2 inch side on them, to keep them from falling off. I'll be using them for the smoked chicken wings I make, too.

I thought I'd throw that one out there for you. Thanks for an awesome site.
 
The baskets sound neat Darrin, how wide are they?

What material are they made of?

Could they be stacked?

You could load them up and stir the nuts a few times instead of trying to do the single layer thing.
 
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It says they are 15". And yes, you can stir easily with them. They will stack, too.
 
Oh, now THOSE are cool! Cooking.com gets quite a bit of my money - no reason that should change now!

Thanks for the reference, Darrin. I think I'll add these to my arsenal.

<moments pass> Well, I didn't find them at Cooking.com, but I DID find them for $19.95 each on Amazon.com, HERE. This is linked through the TVWB benefit link. You know, I can think of all kinds of good uses for these!


Keri C, smokin' on Tulsa Time
(and waving at Darrin from the other end of the turnpike)
 
Oh, and the almonds came out fantastic. I did one level split with walnuts, filberts, and pistachios...all brined the same. The pistachios, I swear, taste like bacon.

I also took about 1/2 cup of the almonds and tossed them with some Habanero Tabasco sauce and did the same with some Chipotle Tabasco sauce. Then, I let them dry for an hour and vacuum packed them. I'm going to let them sit for a couple of days and try them. The one I snuck before vacuuming, though, was delish. hehe

Thanks a ton for this idea!
 
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