Smoked Almonds

SMOKING RECIPE CLIFF NOTES:

- Soak raw almonds in water for 10 minutes

- Remove almonds from water and cover in rub

- Put the almonds on the smoker at 225F

- Let them smoke for 1-1.5 hours, stirring/flipping the almonds half-way through

- Remove the almonds from the smoker and allow them to cool for 15 minutes before serving

Two weekends ago, I decided I wanted to try something entirely new on the smoker. And I also didn't want to spend all day doing it. So I decided to give smoked almonds a try.

I started off with my usual recipe research, and when I came across this post from my usual favorite site, I realized that I could be a little flexible and creative with my approach without there being much issue.

So I went to Costco and bought a huge package of raw almonds. I started off by getting my smoker going, and knowing I didn't need to cook for very long, I went light on the number of coals I lit. I got my smoker running around 225F and then got to preparing the almonds (warning: pictures aren't particular exciting for this post).

Almonds soaking in water

Almonds ready to go on the smoker

The first step in prepping the almonds was to let them soak for 10-15 minutes in water. This just helps them soften up to take on the smoke, while decreasing the chances of them getting burned.

I then pulled them out and through them in smoker safe pans. I had to split them up because of the size of my smoker, and I was going to try to two different recipes. The picture on the left shows the almonds that I rubbed up with some Plowboys Yardbird rub. The picture on the right shows the almonds that I simply covered with salt & pepper.

Almonds on both racks of the smoker

After that, I put both pans of almonds on the smoker, on separate shelves just because they fit better. Again, I had the smoker running around 225F.

Now I had read some recipes that said to let them cook for 30 minutes, and others that said to let them go for 2-3 hours. Given we had some errands to run, I decided to go with the longer time frame to let them get more smoke.

The only thing I had to do in the middle of the cooking was give them a little stir to flip them around so they weren't just sitting on one side the entire time.

Almonds fresh off the smoker

I left the almonds on for about 1.5 hours all-in. When I pulled them off, I then let them sit for about 15 minutes before trying them, so they would cool off and harden a bit.

Upon eating them, there was a clear favorite. The almonds I had covered with actual rub were really good. Great smoky flavor, with enough seasoning from the rub to give them a great taste. The plain salt & pepper covered almonds weren't bad, but compared to the others, they were really lacking.

So the lesson was to use rub! But this was a really easy and tasty snack, and I plan to do more soon and just create a big batch to have around.

SMOKING RECIPE CLIFF NOTES:

- Soak raw almonds in water for 10 minutes

- Remove almonds from water and cover in rub

- Put the almonds on the smoker at 225F

- Let them smoke for 1-1.5 hours, stirring/flipping the almonds half-way through

- Remove the almonds from the smoker and allow them to cool for 15 minutes before serving