A New Experiment: Smoked Hatch Chili Seasoned Pistachios (Pics)

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tx smoker

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Apr 14, 2013
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Lago Vista, Texas
I've been bouncing around some ideas with a few forum friends about some stuff to do homemade to share with people for Christmas presents. It's fun to do unique and interesting things that people will enjoy. At one point in the conversation the subject of smoked pecan and walnuts came up. That got me thinking pistachios. I've loved those things since I was a kid and could easily sit down and eat a 2 pound bag. Found a place out in NM a few years ago while on a motorcycle riding trip that grows, roasts, and seasons them and they are amazing but I wanted to do something different...and thought my idea was viable. Last year was the garlic and herb infused olive oil, which garnered a huge amount of attention here in the forum I will do some of again this year, but felt the need to mix it up a bit. Ordered a bunch of pistachios that were roasted but not salted or seasoned. This worked well because the shells were already opened and I didn't have to roast them. Cold smoked yesterday, let rest overnight in a zip lock bag, and seasoned today.

Here is what I got a bunch of
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A half pound in the grilling wok. Did a small batch because this is a trial run
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Cold smoked with the AMNTS in my big smoker. I thought a couple hours would be plenty. WRONG!! It took 6 hours to get a nice smoke flavor. Here they are after smoking and in the zip lock bag. Not really a lot to see but I want to cover all the steps
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These were seasoned with Hatch chili powder and a little salt
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This morning I put spices in the bag and shook them up real well. My biggest fear came true: the pistachios were too dry and the seasoning wouldn't stick. Dumped the nuts and seasonings into a bowl, added some olive oil, and mixed them again. This worked!! Problem solved.
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I put them onto a paper plate so sit out and dry for a few hours
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Mid afternoon I tasted one and they were lacking. Added a touch more salt and more of the Hatch chili powder. You can see that I added more spice
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And here we have a nice gift bag all vac sealed and ready to share with some poor, unsuspecting soul :emoji_wink: Although not lethal by any means, these do have a nice little kick to them
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When I started the seasoning it was with 2 teaspoons of the chili powder. After adding about a half teaspoon of oil in the bowl to get the spice to stick to the shells I tasted them and a little salt was needed so I put a half teaspoon of salt in and re-mixed. That's when I put them on the plate to dry. After a few hours I tried another one and they just needed more bang so I added one more teaspoon each of the chili powder and salt. Perfect!! Interestingly enough though as the pistachios sat out on the counter the oil apparently dried up because the second round of seasonings was not sticking so I had to add another drizzle of the oil. Grand total I'd say I used about 1 teaspoon of oil (1/2 teaspoon two times), one T of chili powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to a half pound of pistachios. At the end of the day, these things are amazing!! I also got hands on some jalapeno powder I'm going to season some with as well as Old Bay seasoning. There will also be some done with garlic and onion for those that don't want the heat.

Well thanks once again for dropping in. this was a ton of fun and opens the door for all sorts of different flavor profiles. Most likely I'll go through all that I ordered this weekend and order another big batch. See y'all on the next episode of craziness :emoji_anguished:

Robert
 
Sounds great Robert! We don't buy them too often ourselves... for the same reason you mentioned...I can sit and eat a whole bag myself. Wife hates it, since I never used to even like them. Love the idea though!

Ryan
 
Funny you post this thread tonight Robert. The wife and I are snacking on some pistachios as I type. I'm gonna be cold smoking some cheese fairly soon and will have to add this to the smoker. Without her knowing of course.

Point for sure
Chris
 
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I used to smoke pistachios quite a bit. Can't remember where i got the recipe from, but it was basically melted butter, liquid from a jar of pickled jalapenos, wooshy, and tabasco sauce. All of that was combined and the pistachios were coated in the mixture before smoking. They were smoked around 225 for a couple of hours. When I took those jokers to work the bag would disappear quick.
 
Looks great Robert and I love pistachios! I have a bag of roasted unsalted just waiting to be smoked.

What’s your thoughts on seasoning before the smoke? Or have you settled on seasoning afterwards? Either way, they look awesome!
 
They sound good. I like the Hatch Chile flavor and a little heat. But my Dear Bev, can't handle heat at all...JJ
 
Great idea and look delicious! My wife and I love pistachio. I try to forget they are here because like you I can eat a lot o them lol.
 
Wow Robert! I've never thought of any of this. Pistachios are my all time favorite, and like you and everyone, I'd eat them til they were gone. What kind of wood did you smoke with? Excellent idea, I'm definitely doing this. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thanks for posting Robert. Those pistachios look great man. Like the flavor profiles as well. Will be on my Christmas to do list for sure!
 
Sounds great Robert! We don't buy them too often ourselves... for the same reason you mentioned...I can sit and eat a whole bag myself. Wife hates it, since I never used to even like them. Love the idea though!

Appreciate it Ryan!! We had to take a hiatus from them. For a while we'd sit down every evening for a few minutes of TV and wipe out a 2 pound bag...and I was showing restraint :emoji_laughing: Have not had any for a while but that just changed.

Awesome idea Robert. I love pistachios as well.

Thanks Jake. It's really easy to do and they are well worth the effort. Givr it a shot!! I know you have the cookers and seasonings.

Funny you post this thread tonight Robert. The wife and I are snacking on some pistachios as I type. I'm gonna be cold smoking some cheese fairly soon and will have to add this to the smoker. Without her knowing of course.

Oh the timing of it!! I promise though Chris, your secret is safe with me. Why not tell the wife? Afraid she might like them a little too much?? :emoji_wink:

Robert
 
Hell Yeah!

Be careful my friend or you might wind up with a surprise on your door step. I have a special blend of spice mix that may get incorporated on a batch of these.

When I took those jokers to work the bag would disappear quick.

I bet they would!! Your seasoning sounds amazing. I've copied and pasted it to try with a batch soon. Thanks so much for sharing that.

Looks great Robert and I love pistachios! I have a bag of roasted unsalted just waiting to be smoked.

What’s your thoughts on seasoning before the smoke? Or have you settled on seasoning afterwards? Either way, they look awesome!

Fire up the smoker Joe!! My concern with seasoning first is that the spices would dry while smoking. To make sure they get evenly smoked, I stirred them around a couple times and I'm afraid the spices would all fall off and I'd be back to seasoning them again.

Robert
 
They sound good. I like the Hatch Chile flavor and a little heat. But my Dear Bev, can't handle heat at all

Sounds like your dear Bev might like some that are seasoned with garlic and onion. That's one of the flavors I want to try.

Darn Robert! I gotta try these. They look delicious!

Thanks Steve!! They are really, really good buddy. Got another 2 pounds on the smoker right now.

Nice idea .

Thanks Chop. Was an idea that formulated over a period of time but it came out well.

Robert
 
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Great idea and look delicious! My wife and I love pistachio. I try to forget they are here because like you I can eat a lot o them lo

Well heck Jeff, what's the point in having them around if you're not gonna eat them?? :emoji_laughing: I look at it this way: as many calories are burnt shelling them as calories are taken in eating them. It'a a perfect balance.

What kind of wood did you smoke with? Excellent idea, I'm definitely doing this. Thanks for sharing.

Good question Mike. I kinda left that out didn't I? Started with pecan but after 3 hours realized that wasn't doing the trick. The last 3 hours was the Ultimate Blend from Lumberjack. Those were just right there on the patio in the hopper of the Rec Tec so I refilled the tube with them. The batch on the Rec Tec now is running the same Lumberjack pellets. Im hoping these don't take as long as it did yesterday.

Thanks for posting Robert. Those pistachios look great man. Like the flavor profiles as well. Will be on my Christmas to do list for sure

More than welcome my friend. I bet you are planning to do some of these for Christmas presents being that you're the one who inspired me to come up with this crazy idea in the first place :emoji_laughing:

Robert
 
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