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9 replies

Smoked Almonds

C countrypete84Member
I've been reading up on many of the discussions regarding almonds, and decided to try some today. I wanted to try Pags' recipe, but I am out of Worcestershire and granulated garlic.

However, yesterday I bought a container of Cinnamon Chile rub from Homesense, thinking it would be great as a rib rub. Then it hit me, why not almonds? Ingredients: korintje cinnamon, chipotle and ancho chile peppers, thyme, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, red pepper, black pepper, celery seed, dermerara sugar, sea salt, onion, garlic, citric acid, parsley.

I am making 3 pounds of almonds. Wetted them with water, added 2 teaspoons sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of the spice blend (used my nutribullet to grind it into a powder as it was chunky). Mixed it all up. I only have 1 stainless steel seafood/nut tray, so am smoking half of them right now. Put into my smokette elite sm025 at 195 degrees (set it to 200). Not enough smoking coming out, so I turned it up to 220 for 20 minutes, proper smoke now coming out, so I turned it down to 205. I will check and flip at the two hour mark.

I made almonds once last year and they came out almost black and WAY too smoky (could smell them through a ziploc bag when I opened my fridge, as I stored them there). I think I used too much wood then, but can't remember how much (upwards of 6-7 ounces hickory). I also pre-soaked them overnight as well, but today did not, as it appears from the forums it isn't needed.


Could the black have been from too much smoke, or just burning them? I think last year I used a sugar glaze, so perhaps it was that burning, though I think I did some with and without sugar and both came out pretty black.

I do like a strong smoke smell though, so today I used 2 ounce chunks each of pecan and hickory (weighed on my digital scale).

I have them smoking on the bottom rack.

I will post pics tonight and let you know the results. I know the smoke flavour "intensifies" over a day or two when sealed in a bag. Going to take some to work on Monday to get people's opinion (provided they don't turn black).

I know I am long winded, but I like to give lots of detail, as that will help you pros give me better advice for a better product.

Thanks again, now I'm off to have some smoked turkey I made on Thursday (brined), but that's a discussion for another day.
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FM Former Member
I'm not an expert by any means, but I've probably smoked 100 pounds of almonds over the past couple years.

Can't say for sure, but sounds like too much smoke turned your almonds black.

I pretty much do all mine (in an 045) at 225 degrees for 2 hours, including a cinnamon and sugar coated almond, and don't have problems with burnt almonds.

Haven't tried water as a sticking agent, so I can't speak intelligently to that. For my Jalapeno and sugar almonds I use an egg white wash, 1 egg white per pound of almonds, whisked until frothy, coat the almonds with the egg white mixture and then coat with your dry ingredients.

Use about 2 ounces of hickory with mine. Doesn't give an overly smoky taste.

I just started selling a few smoked almonds using the above techniques and people seem to like 'em.
Selling about a dozen 4 oz packs a week out of a small coffee/snack shop at work.

Hope this helps.
M mrt 2Where there's smoke, there's beer.
Suggest you keep it simple. Different woods produce different colors and flavor. Suggest you experiment changing one thing at a time. The nuts most likely are roasted so no need to cook them any further, you just want to season them and then ad a smoke flavor. Hickory is good but can leave a bitter taste. Try using a lighter wood and go from there. Most importantly keep good notes.

Tom
C countrypete84Member
Thank you both for your advice. They are raw almonds bought from Costco,so they need to be roasted.

I just checked them at the two hour mark and they are not black at all. Smoking at 225, as when I keep putting the smoker back to 205, it gets down to 195 and the smoke stops. Will check at the 3 and 4 hour mark as well. It's really windy today, so I think that is affecting the internal temperature of the smoker.

So far, so good. Will post photos when they're done. I will have to try the egg wash idea, it sounds like a good one. And I think the reduced wood amount may be helping with not blackening the almonds.
C countrypete84Member
Here they are. Cooked at 225 4 hours, flipped at the two hour mark. Not a single burnt almond. And, they have a delicious and full bodies smoke flavour. Looks like 4 ounces of wood is perfect for my liking. I want a tad more smoke flavour, which I know will come after a day or two in a ziploc bag. The seasoning is perfect.

For the second batch I just put on, I actually found some garlic salt in my cupboard and sprinkled some on after arranging them in a single layer on the tray, as I found the initial batch needed a touch more salt. Also, I wanted to be bold and daring, so I switched out the wood with two ounces each chunks of mesquite and cherry. Should make an interesting combo! I'll post about the results.

I'm quite excited at my success! Thanks for all the advice everyone.

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C countrypete84Member
I let them cool until lukewarm and the bagged them, and they made the occasional cracking noise for 3 hours. I JUST took out the mesquite/cherry wood/garlic salted almonds now and the smoke flavour is extremely unique, VERY present, and totally delicious. I'll report if the smoke gets too intense once bagged, in a couple of days. However, straight out of the smoker, I have never tasted better!

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