Cashews are making a resurgence. I’ve always loved them though. Mainly because cashew chicken is one of my favorite dishes of all time. Seriously, dice up some chicken, sprinkle cashews in a sweet rich plum sauce and you will be in heaven.
But I digress, cashews come from the Portugeuese word caju which comes from an indigenous Tupian word acaju. The cashew nut grows at the bottom of the cashew apple (which is a sweet but delicate fruit), the “nut” is the seed of the cashew apple. The nut is surrounded by two layers of highly acidic shell that can burn the skin and do some serious damage. It’s gotten so bad for cashew laborers in foreign countries that they’ve begun to protest the unsafe working conditions that come with harvesting cashews.
Assuming all our cashews from a good place, let’s focus on the good things about these tasty seeds/nuts. First they are a super food that’s high in good fat and minerals. On top of that, cashews are a nice source of B vitamins and they can play a major role in satisfying your hunger. I love making my own nuts. HAHAHAHAHAH the jokes write themselves people!
When you make your nuts….hhahhahahaha I seriously can’t. Buy raw nuts at the grocery store and flavor your nuts. I literally can’t even write this part with a straight face. Buy raw…CASHEWS. Cashews. Raw cashews are sort of chewy and not all that pleasant to eat. By roasting them you unlock their power and delicious flavor. This recipe is a piece of cake and you can easily augment it with your favorite seasonings. The bacon fat and smoke flavor give it a smokey bacony flavor that is really satisfying. These will keep for at least few days if not more, I love them as a snack at work. So go roast your nuts in peace =).
Recipe – Smoked Bacon Fat Cashews
Ingredients
3 Tsp. Liquid Smoke (Hickory Flavor)
2 Tbsp. Bacon Fat
3 Tsp. Sea Salt
4 to 5 Cups of Cashews
Method –
Step 1 – In a large bowl mix the cashews, bacon fat, liquid smoke, and salt together.
Step 2- Spread the cashews out on a baking sheet.
Step 3- Roast the cashews at 300F for approximately 30 minutes. Check every 10 minutes or so to see if you’re cashews are becoming golden brown, I tend to thin out the cashews as they cook since they wont all cook at the same time. As some of the cashews become golden brown, remove them and allow the rest to cook.
Step 4- Allow the cashews to cool and then store in a air tight container.
- 3 Tsp. Liquid Smoke (Hickory Flavor)
- 2 Tbsp. Bacon Fat
- 3 Tsp. Sea Salt
- 4 to 5 Cups of Cashews
- Step 1 – In a large bowl mix the cashews, bacon fat, liquid smoke, and salt together.
- Step 2- Spread the cashews out on a baking sheet.
- Step 3- Roast the cashews at 300F for approximately 30 minutes. Check every 10 minutes or so to see if you’re cashews are becoming golden brown, I tend to thin out the cashews as they cook since they wont all cook at the same time. As some of the cashews become golden brown, remove them and allow the rest to cook.
- Step 4- Allow the cashews to cool and then store in a air tight container.
