Hickory Smoked Nuts

We cooked these nuts as a snack when a vegan friend (Chris) came to visit. After 20 minutes of smoking over hickory chips, these nuts tasted a lot like bacon. He didn't complain. 

Ingredients
1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 cup mixed salted nuts (pecans are mandatory, cashews, almonds, etc)

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 handfuls hickory wood chips, soaked in water for a couple of hours 

Instructions

Mix the brown sugar, cayenne pepper, and rosemary. Pour the nuts in a 9 x 13-inch heavy-duty foil pan (or any pan coated with foil, as shown below). Add the oil and seasonings and coat the nuts. 

Prepare a two-zone fire for low heat (250 -350 degrees Fahrenheit). Basically, you want to let the coals heat up until they turn gray and move them to one end of the grill. Put the lid on and wait for the temperature to stabilize. Drain the water from the bowl of wood chips and dump one handful on the hot coals. 

When the chips begin to smoke, place the tray of nuts on the grate, away from the coals. Close the lid with the vent holes open over the nuts so the smoke passes over them on the way out. Let the nuts smoke for 10 minutes. Then open the lid, stir the nuts, place another handful of chips on the coals and close the lid for another 10 minutes. Remove the nuts and let cool in the aluminum tray. 

Smoked nuts recipe can be found in the Weber's Charcoal Grilling cookbook that Tim got for Christmas (best present ever?)