Nuts Hot or Cold Smoked?

[sotv]

With the plethora of nuts available in the shop for xmas, has anyone smoked a selection for themselves before?

Hot smoking them seems to be the preferred method, but was hoping cold smoking might be an option. Any thoughts or experiences? Was thinking of getting some plain pistachios in shells. shelled peanuts and cashews and using salt and lime juice (in place of sugar) and if succesfull maybe some Brazil nuts and walnuts with a bit of salt only

I have one of these so can spread the nuts out in the proq without fear of losing any 

Cold smoking would be easier if achievable, and what sort of storage time can you keep them for once they have been smoked?

[Smokin Monkey]

I know @Wade producers, Smoked Nuts

Not sure about Cold Smoked Nuts.

[Wade]

I smoke about 15 Kg of nuts a month for a couple of Bars that sell them. Mostly Almonds and Cashews but sometimes Pistachios too. The challenge is to get the smoke to stick to the surface of the nuts and I do this in a two stage process.

1. For the best results you need to start with raw nuts - not roasted or flavoured
2. Make a brine from 30 g of smoked salt in 230 g water. The salt is obviously smoked in advance
3. Pour the nuts into the brine and mix to ensure that they are completely covered.
4. Strain immediately through a kitchen sieve and place the strained nuts in a large roasting pan
5. Blitz 30 g of smoked salt per Kg of nuts in a coffee grinder until it is a fine powder and sprinkle evenly over the nuts. Mix well to ensure all of the surfaces of the nuts are covered
6. I have had some mesh baskets made for the smoker but you can use a flat roasting tray
7. Heat the smoker to 160 C (320 F) and then roast the nuts for 3 x 8 minutes (a total of 24 minutes). After each 8 minutes stir the nuts well as, at first, the salt brine will be causing some to stick to the tray.
8. After they have finished roasting place the trays into the cold smoker and smoke for ~8 hours

Nuts roasting in hot smoker

Nuts in cold smoker

I usually supply them in 1 Kg bags but I also pack them in 200 g packets.

[Wade]

35 minutes ago, sotv said:

I have one of these so can spread the nuts out in the proq without fear of losing any 

what sort of storage time can you keep them for once they have been smoked?

Yes the mesh basket will be perfect for the nuts

If you keep them in an airtight container or, preferably, vac packed they will keep about a year.

[Justin]

There is the weber recipe I did last summer tailgate.

 

1 tsp softt light brown sugar

1 tsp cumin seeds. Ground in matter and pestle or mill in grinder. 

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

500g salted nuts mixed nuts or peanuts

2 tsp ground but oil.

Use kettle BBQ.  180-230degs c. 

Mix sugar, cumin, and cayenne pepper in foil tray. Add nuts and stir. Add oil. And toss mixture

Add hickory chips to charcoa (I use soaked chips) and smoke indirect heat for about 20 mins. Be attentive. A shade or two darker is enough. When they'll try will crisp up. Make sure nuts are in single layer.

Serve at room temp. Store in airtight container 

I like wades idea of smoked salt. If nuts are bought unsalted like they sell in Lidl then maybe try this. 

[Wade]

If you are looking to buy in bulk then somewhere like Sunburst Snacks is a good place

[Wade]

These are the pack sizes I use - 1 Kg and 120 g

10 Kg of Cashews and 5 Kg of Pistachios ready for delivery tomorrow

 

[sotv]

Thanks for the advice and tips to people who have posted on this thread. With a decidedly rubbish weather forecasts for the foreseeable, the idea of firing up the smoker for less than a half hour to roast some nuts doesn't seem practical and then allowing to cool down to cold smoke. Have bookmarked the thread for reference for when the weather improves a bit next year and roast the nuts after a cook and use the end of the coals for a 25 minute minute blitz.

I think the salt only version is the way to go for me. (Can you use things like Cornish or Maldon Smoked Salt Flakes as an option to salt them)? as you can buy them in the supermarket

Thinking out aloud, could I also roast them in the oven in a roasting dish say for say 3 x 8 minutes (shaking inbetween) and then cold smoke them for 8 hours?

If so it would be pistachios and cashews (as Justin said Lidl do unsalted versions of both) so would get them from there initially to try, if I can do the first part in the oven.

Is Hickory the best type of dust to use or are there others that work as well?

How long does the smoke take to settle is it like cheese and bacon and a couple or more weeks to settle. or can they be eaten pretty quickly. 

On a seperate note Been eating a lot of Pistachios in the past few weeks and was wondering if anyone knew if the shells of them could be used for woodsmoking or not. Because I would imagine I could build up quite a collection if they could?

Sorry for more questions, but it seems there are at least a couple who have tried it successfully and have some knowledge of what they are doing.

[Justin]

I was smoking salmon and cheese in he the light rain yesterday. Was fine.

[Smokin Monkey]

17 minutes ago, Justin said:

I was smoking salmon and cheese in he the light rain yesterday. Was fine.

That’s funny, the light rain was fine! (Only joking) 😁

[Wade]

23 hours ago, sotv said:

... the idea of firing up the smoker for less than a half hour to roast some nuts doesn't seem practical and then allowing to cool down to cold smoke.
... could I also roast them in the oven in a roasting dish say for say 3 x 8 minutes (shaking inbetween) and then cold smoke them for 8 hours?
... If so it would be pistachios and cashews 
... Is Hickory the best type of dust to use or are there others that work as well?
... How long does the smoke take to settle is it like cheese and bacon and a couple or more weeks to settle. or can they be eaten pretty quickly. 

On a separate note Been eating a lot of Pistachios in the past few weeks and was wondering if anyone knew if the shells of them could be used for woodsmoking or not. Because I would imagine I could build up quite a collection if they could?

Yes you can use the oven for the first part - especially if you have been using smoked salt in the brine and seasoning.

Almonds and walnuts are good too and so are macadamia nuts. I have not tried others but they are worth giving a go.

I use Hickory for most of the things I smoke as it has a nice "sweet" aroma and rounded taste however other woods will work just as well too

The nuts can be eaten immediately but mine tend to rest for at least 24-48 hours in their packaging before they are likely to be eaten.

Yes you can use the pistachio shells - though I have not used them myself. They are best put through the food processor first to break the shells down onto smaller fragments and used in something like an AMNPS pellet smoker or a tube. Make sure that all of the nuts have been removed first though or the smoke can apparently become bitter. Comments from a friend in the USA who does use them

Quote

"What I have noticed, is that with smoking chips, the SMOKING PROCESS smells very strongly, and with the pistachio shells the process on the porch doesn't smell as much as hickory or such, but then the FOOD smells amazingly and also tastes so well and oddly, seems softer????"

Some also blend them with other wood chips or dust.

[sotv]

Bought a 1kg of cashew, pistachios and walnuts from Lidl pick & mix and they were already salted. Grrr. Annoying thing is I could have just tried them in the shop to find out. Think it was from when I was kid , told never pinch a sweet from the pick & mix at Woolies as it was stealing. 😀

Will order some online in the New Year, when I have got through this lot.....

[Justin]

I think you picked wrong ones. They are packeted not loose?