I tried smoked almonds

[Cheech]

I tried a recipe for smoked almonds out of the book Charcuterie.  It called for two or three hours of smoke.  I used two hours and they came out so strong that each piece tasted like i was biting from a piece of lumber from a house fire.  I had to throw them away.

I guess i was hoping for a taste closer to the "smoked flavor" almonds i buy at the store.  What i got was simply inedible.  Am i missing something here? Do i just need to smoke them for a shorter time until i find the taste i like?  Or should i just move on and forget about this recipe?

[Gafala]

I tried a recipe for smoked almonds out of the book Charcuterie.  It called for two or three hours of smoke.  I used two hours and they came out so strong that each piece tasted like i was biting from a piece of lumber from a house fire.  I had to throw them away.

I guess i was hoping for a taste closer to the "smoked flavor" almonds i buy at the store.  What i got was simply inedible.  Am i missing something here? Do i just need to smoke them for a shorter time until i find the taste i like?  Or should i just move on and forget about this recipe?

You need to let them rest a few days or a week, try only two hours of cold smoke.

[TedEbear]

What flavor smoke did you use?  Hickory and mesquite are very strong smokes. 

I've never smoked almonds but I did my first batch of Chex Mix with hickory recently and it took a few weeks sealed in Ziplock bags to calm down the flavor before it was good enough to eat.  My next batches were with cherry and it was ready to eat right out of the smoker.

[Cheech]

Thanks y'all.  Ill try again with a lag after smoking.

I used apple wood.

[seb bot]

I have used the recipe from the susanmminor.org site with very good results. I believe it is actually adapted from the Charcuterie cookbook you mention, so it may be the same one you already tried. Sorry if that is in fact the case. :P

I usually use hickory pucks, and do either 2 hours or sometimes an extra puck, so 2:20 of smoke. I grind the spices in a coffee grinder until they are super fine, they seem to adhere to the nuts fairly well...

As already mentioned, the taste kind of mellows out after a week or so, but they are pretty good fresh too! ;)

Here is the link to the recipe, hope it works for you!
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?435-Smoked-Almonds

[Jim O]

I agree with seb bot . Mine always turn out well !

Jim O

[BoxcarBetts]

I did some cashews on the 30th and I've been letting them set since then. Tried one yesterday and I'd say they're getting pretty close! I also used 2 hours of smoke. I was smoking cheese with Hickory at the same time.

Sorry to hear you threw the batch out! They were probably just fine!

[BoxcarBetts]

Just looking for everyone's input, if you've smoked cashews (I heard someone say they smoke the Kirkland ones from Costco? That's what I did.), just wondering how long you let them set for afterwards? Anyone found that magic length of time?

[Saber 4]

Just looking for everyone's input, if you've smoked cashews (I heard someone say they smoke the Kirkland ones from Costco? That's what I did.), just wondering how long you let them set for afterwards? Anyone found that magic length of time?

I haven't smoked nuts by themselves but the peanuts and pecans in my chex mix are good right out of the smoker and only get better with time, of course it's never lasted more than 2-4 weeks so beyond that I can't help you.

[Habanero Smoker]

Just looking for everyone's input, if you've smoked cashews (I heard someone say they smoke the Kirkland ones from Costco? That's what I did.), just wondering how long you let them set for afterwards? Anyone found that magic length of time?

I can't say if there is a specific point in time that they taste the best. Also I feel a lot will depend on the type of bisquette you use, the amount of smoke, and if the surface is moist. I recently smoke four pounds of mixed nuts, and part of that mix was one pound of BJ's cashews. I had a wet coating on them so I only applied 1:20 hours of maple smoke. I had one pound in each tray, and I rotated the trays every 20 minutes, then transferred to a 300°F oven. Mine were edible right out of the oven, but with a slight bitter after taste. I vacuum packed them in containers, and after a few days they had a more mellow flavor. I gave them as gifts as part of a Christmas gift. Of all the things that were in the package, I got the best response about the nuts.