My friend Heather recently gave me a Hy-Vee magazine that came to her in the mail (she’s an Aisles Online fan) and it has some cool appetizer recipes that I thought I might try. The first contestant is these pecans….warning, the hubster decided we should smoke them, so the first round went in the trash. Turns out you need to cook them a little lower than the oven temperature. Round 2 also involved the pellet smoker but at a lower temp. YUMMO!
I think they would be good in the oven as well, and one thing I might try for Round 3 is to toast the pecans in the oven a bit, then add the gooey, bourbony deliciousness. Check out the recipe below – might be great for holiday gifts!
Candied Bourbon Pecans
1/2 bourbon
2/3 C dark brown sugar
1/4 C butter
1 tbsp. finely grated ginger
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 C pecan halves
cinnamon sugar, optional
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or smoker to 225). In a saucepan, bring bourbon, dark brown sugar, butter, ginger, salt and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes until thickened.
Stir in pecans. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until toasted. If smoking, placed on foil vegetable-type rack (or we used screen from the hardware store) for about 30-40 minutes. Toss occasionally. Cool and toss with cinnamon sugar if desired.
Connie Kaye's Kitchen 