Learning how to smoke nuts is one of the easiest things to do on the grill. The options for the spices, seasonings, and butter or oil are virtually limitless. I really enjoy giving these out as gifts!
So, my first draft blog post on How to Smoke Nuts was redacted heavily by Ginny. I guess she just didn’t appreciate my smoked nuts humor…something about “inappropriate content.” Whatever! 🙂
I love, love, love these recipes. Smoking nuts around the holidays is especially fun! Ginny packages these into nice gift bags and I give them out at work as gifts. Well, at least I tell her that I give them out as gifts. I am always tempted to just stash them in my desk to eat myself!
During our last trip to the grocery store, we picked up raw unsalted nuts and seeds from the bulk food aisle. We had looked at Costco for them, but I didn’t need a 5lb bag of each! So, we mixed up some raw cashews, peanuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Any combination will do just fine.
🧑🍳 Prepare the Grill
I set up the Big Green Egg for a Hot Smoking. I added the plate setter (feet side up) and try to get the temperature stabilized at 250 degrees. Some hickory wood that I wanted to use for the smoke was soaked and added to the coals.
It’s just a pet peeve of mine, but adding chunks of wood to the BGE with the plate setter in place can be a pain! I used the ash tool to carefully lift the edge of the plate setter and the grate to provide enough room to stick another few chunks of wood in after the first ones burned away.
It would have been easier to use the hickory wood chips, but I feel like these can burn away way too quickly.
🥜 Recipe Preparation
I included two recipes below. The first was a Dizzy Dust flavoring from Dizzy Pig in Manassas, Virginia. The second was a sweet and salty mix.
Some moisture is required for the flavoring to stick to the nuts. For the Dizzy Dust nuts, I soaked the nuts and seeds in water for about 10 minutes. For the sweet and salty mix, the butter and vanilla extract provided the moisture.
Mix the ingredients together and carefully pour them into a plastic Ziploc bag. Add half a pound of the nut mixture to the bag and shake it to evenly coat the nuts.
Now for the fun part!
Use a disposable pan and poke holes in the bottom to allow the smoke to penetrate. I used an old pair of scissors and poked several holes in the pan. It was easy to do, but did make a lot of noise.
Just make sure you tell your spouse what you are doing before she questions your sanity! Trust me!
Now for the fun part! Use a disposable pan and poke holes in the bottom to allow the smoke to penetrate. I used an old pair of scissors and poked several holes in the pan. It was easy to do, but did make a lot of noise.
🔥 Smoking Instructions
Open the Ziploc bag and pour the nuts into the disposable pan. I found that about ½ pound of nuts was enough to have good coverage in the pan, but not too much for the smoke to easily flavor them. You also don’t want too many, as it will make it difficult to stir them around.
Close the lid of the BGE and monitor the temperature and the smoke. I left these on the grill for two hours, stirring once and adding a few extra wood chips.
⏲️ Smoking Time
You want the nuts to take on a nice toasty brown coloring. Depending on the temperature of the grill, it will take anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours.
When you remove them from the grill, let them rest for a couple of hours before eating. When they are fresh off the grill, they will still be a bit soft. Letting them rest gives them the opportunity to harden up. Soggy nuts just aren’t fun!
Which recipe did you like better? Do you have your own recipe that is your family favorite?
Ginny mentioned afterwards that these will be great to add to the Christmas baskets she makes for my job as a lot of my younger staff don’t reach for the cookies and sweets as much (I certainly don’t have that problem). Small bags made up will be perfect for those health conscious folks.
How to Smoke Nuts
Ingredients
Sweet and Salty Mix
- ½ cup Butter
- 1 tsp Cinnamon ground
- 2 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
Dizzy Dust Nuts Mix
- 2 tbsp Dizzy Dust by Dizzy Pig
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Prepare the Smoker
- Set your grill or smoker for 250 degrees. You will want indirect heat, so if you are using a kamado style grill, add the plate setter.
- Add your favorite wood chunks (or chips) for smoking. I used Hickory. They don't need to be soaked.
Smoked Nuts (For Both Recipes)
- If the recipe does not have any liquid in it, soak the nuts and seeds in water for about 10 minutes. This is needed for the seasoning to stick to the nuts.
- Mix ingredients and toss with nuts in a Ziploc bag.
- Poke holes in a disposable aluminum pan.
- Place nuts in the aluminum pan.
- Smoke for 90 minutes to 3 hours. You want them to be a darker brown.
- They may still be a bit wet coming off the grill. Let them come down to room temperature and leave them uncovered for 3-4 hours. They will "crisp" up. The first time I made this recipe, I thought something was wrong as the nuts were still a bit soggy when I took them off the grill. Don't worry. Just wait the few hours.
Notes
Nutrition
