Bulk Nuts--Looking for a Good Source

[JJC]

Hi All,

It's time for me to start smokin' nuts again--I end up doing about 30-50 pounds by the time I'm done (mostly pistachios, believe it or not).  I have been buying 2-5# bags from the supermarket, but it gets pretty pricey with the quantities I need.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a supplier of nuts in bulk?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

John
Newton MA

[IKnowWood]

Try nutsonline  The prices look good.  I did get some for my in-laws from ACME that were by the 2-5 lb but not bulk.  I assume Raw.  looking at www.nutsonline.com they had a good variety including raw nuts.

also check out bulkfoods.com, there prices were better but I am not so sure on quality.  

How do you prepare and cook them?

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore

[nsxbill]

Thanks for the link to the nut site.  A friend of ours sells bulk nuts and dried fruits out of Napa to many of the restaurants in Napa and Sacramento area.  Don't know if they are into shipping or not, but here is the link http://www.napanuts.com/.  Extra premium quality.  Their nuts are served at the finest restaurants, and they are very dependable about keeping things in stock.  Tell Maxine if you write to her or call that Bill Muirhead sent you.

Bill

<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>

[JJC]

Hi All,

Just received a delivery from nutsonline.com of #25 of colossal pistachio nuts, roasted + salted.  Price with shipping was about the same as the colossal pistachios for offer at local markets.  HJowever, these nuts were definitely larger and higher quality, and arrived 2 days after order was placed on-line.  Well worth it . . .

Bill, I will give the Napa nut folks a call before my next order . . . just didn't have time on this one.

John
Newton MA

[IKnowWood]

John, how do you smoke it and for how long?  

What outcome are you trying for?

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore

[JJC]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by IKnowWood</i>
<br />John, how do you smoke it and for how long?  

What outcome are you trying for?

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Sorry for the delay in replying to your question, Johnny--thanks for raising it again.

It's incredibly simple but positively addictive.  I simply put roasted, lightly salted pistachios (ikn the shell) on the racks and cold-smoke them with hickory for 3-4 hours.

A couple of important tips:  

1) you do not want to re-roast the nuts, so make sure the temp stays below 120F.  The cardboard box/dryer hose set up Manx and others of us use works perfectly for this application.

2) you can use the ferky racks (with the narrower mesh) if you use jumbo or colossal size pistachios without the nuts falling through the holes. If this is a problem, get some hardware cloth (stiff wire mesh with a 1/4" hole) or even screening material and cut it to line your racks

3)  I've never tried the nut meats themselves (i.e., sans shells), but I'm sure it would work perfectly--you'd definitely need the hardware cloth or screen liner.

Hope this is helpful.

John
Newton MA

[IKnowWood]

Thanks, I never thought what pistachios would taste smoked.  I like a good sharp citrus lemon and sea salty flavor taste.  But smoked????  I tried smoked Almonds once from a can and they were interesting, but I don't know.  

Thanks for the info.

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore

[JJC]

Smoked pistachios are so good my friends say I could make a better living selling them than I do now . . . [:D]

John
Newton MA