First you melt 1/4 cup of butter (not margarine) in a small sauce pan. Add 1 tsp hickory flavored liquid smoke (this doesn't really give them a smoky flavor, but enhances some of the natural flavors), then stir in 2 cups of raw almonds.
Stir the almonds well to coat thouroughly, place a lid on the pan, and allow them to sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, begin soaking your wood chips. I have found that hickory is really the best wood for almonds. The wood needs to be soaked in water for 15 minutes before adding them to the smoker.
This handy little iron box doesn't look like much, but it does a fantastic job once you get the hang of using it.
I used my propane grill with this iron smoker..using about 2 pounds of wood chips for smoking about 5 pounds of almonds. Drain the almonds in a collander (save the butter for the next batch), and spread them out in a single layer on a perforated pan.
It doesn't take long before they begin roasting and taking on a beautiful golden brown color....which is when you need to start building smoke.
They must be stirred often and moved away from the heat source to prevent burning. About 30-45 minutes is enough to give them that fresh smokehouse flavor! Once they are out of the smoker, dust them thoroughly with the seasoning mix (recipe below). Enjoy!
Seasoning Mix for smoked Almonds...
1 T Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (the same stuff we use as a rub for our deep fried turkeys)
1 teaspoon onion powder
Grind together in a spice grinder until it is a very fine powder. Add 2 T sugar and mix well, sprinkle liberally over the almonds while they are hot.
2 comments:
I'll bet those are delicious! The recipients of your baskets are some lucky folk! :)
Mmmm! That looks delicious! I didn't know how to do this myself, and this is one of our favorite treats here as well! Thank you!!
The Girl in the Pink Dress
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