Might as well smoke some almonds too!

[SoCalBuilder]

I'm doing a briskit this weekend and thought maybe I would go ahead a slip a rack or two of almonds above that. Any suggestions on whether I should use raw almonds or the regular roasted ones? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[FLBentRider]

I do them raw.

3-4 hours of smoke, then after they cool they get a spice mix.

[beefmann]

i agree with  raw

[deb415611]

I use raw as well

This is a good almond recipe  http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10050.0   you could adjust the recipe for the temps that you are using

[FLBentRider]

That's the recipe I use too.

[SoCalBuilder]

I do them raw.

3-4 hours of smoke, then after they cool they get a spice mix.

I use raw as well

This is a good almond recipe  http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10050.0   you could adjust the recipe for the temps that you are using

Deb and FLBR - Thanks and do you suppose I could spice them up, like a rub, and smoke them then?

[FLBentRider]

The recipe calls for he smoke first, then the rub.

It's hard to get the spices to stay on the nuts. I think doing it first would make a mess in the smoker, since I stir them every hour or so while smoking.

[deb415611]

I used some egg white on a few batches and the spices seem to stick better.  I have done it with and without the oil - with the oil is better flavored. 

I have been meaning to try some with heat rather than smoking the raw nuts first.  Maybe i'll have time to try it this weekend.

[SoCalBuilder]

Well, in spite of myself, the almonds came out pretty good :) I used a modified version of the recipe that Deb suggested. First mod was that I decided to do them hot and the spices applied during the smoking of a brisket. The spices were modified because I forgot to add the garlic powder. Not sure it helped but I sprinkled some on after it was in the smoker ??? I had some of the Special blend pucks left from my original sample pack, so I loaded about an hour and forty in followed up by 5 hours worth of hickory. I loaded the nuts in first so they got a little colder smoke during warm-up and they were in for a total of probably 4 hours.

Thinking back to the original recipe, I decided that I would stick them in the oven at 375* and maybe dry them up a little. I slid the Bradley rack and all into the oven and a couple minutes later heard a plunking sound. An odd smell and bit of smoke wafted from the oven when I went to investigate. I hadn't considered the jerky mats I had the nuts on and it was melting. The plunking sound was a nut falling to the bottom of the oven. I grabbed the rack and tried to figure out where to take the odoriferous, plasticized, smoke almond brittle I had just created >:( I ended up outside and threw it inside my Lynx grill.

After refilling the water bowl and setting the brisket up for the rest of it's cook, I grabbed the now cooled almonds and took them inside. Surprisingly, they popped off the rack and I left them till this morning. The spices stayed on the almonds quite well; so well that the taste was a bit overwhelming for me, much less the bride. I put them in a wire strainer and shook them about, knocking most all of the surface materials off. The nuts were quite nice then, with plenty of flavor and crunch.

I'm not sure I can recreate this or not, but it's not my last time ;D


Before smoke


After smoke

[FLBentRider]

When I make those, I smoke them @250F for four hours, and forgo the oven phase.

My jerky screens got melted in a less spectacular fashion, I left them in the oven and my son pre-heated the oven to 450F for a pizza...

[SoCalBuilder]

When I make those, I smoke them @250F for four hours, and forgo the oven phase.

My jerky screens got melted in a less spectacular fashion, I left them in the oven and my son pre-heated the oven to 450F for a pizza...

I kinda think that is the way I'll try it next time. The spices adhered just fine. They were still a much for my bride, so I rinsed a few to see if the flavors penetrated the almonds at all. They pretty much just tasted like roasted nuts to me. Not sure of the chemistry that would allow the almond to 'soak' up the smoke and spices.

Yeah, the smell of melting platic is not what you want to smell coming out of your oven. I need to look and see if frog mats are different than the jerky mats.