Caramelized Pecans
Recipe with video - Pecan nuts was not something I was used to growing up in Denmark. I only first tasted them when visiting Danish friends working in USA a little over 20 years ago. They made a pecan pie recipe they had gotten from their neighbors. And that mild walnut flavor tested just right for me. It is also one of the best nuts to caramelize.
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) almonds with skin (3 dl)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
- 1/2 dl (3 tbsp) water
The video is from my recipe for caramelized almonds. Don't let that confuse you :-) The ingredients are different but the procedures are exactly the same.
Directions
making the sirup
Put all the ingredients into a frying pan or a wide pot.
Cook at medium to high heat until the water and sugar turns into a sirup .
Continue cooking until all the water has evaporated from the syrup and it turns back into sugar.
caramelizing
When the sugar starts to melt then turn down the heat to prevent that the sugar and pecans burns easily.
Keep heating the sugar and pecans until the sugar melts and browns.
It is important that you continuously turn over the mixture with your turner. Keep taking the pecans in the bottom of the pan and put them at the top.
You really cannot overdo it. A short break in the turning and all can be lost. If the sugar melts too much it is unable to stick to
pecans
.
If it happens then you can add some more sugar. You might be lucky that it is enough.
As soon as all the pecans is covered in a thin layer of browned sugar, then pour the pecans over onto something that can tolerate the heat.
Use the turner to make sure that they don't cool in big lumps. Once they are cooled down they are almost impossible to separate.
Let them cool until you can touch them without burning, and then separate them completely.
You can eat them when they ar cool enough to not burn the inside of your mouth :-S
Notes
Starting with making a syrup is not strictly necessary. But it results in a better roasted taste of the pecans . It improves bot the taste and the consistency, and is what I find is missing with the bought pecans .
If everything goes wrong and the sugar melts too much, don't despair. It takes only 5 minutes to make a new portion. And the old can just be chopped up and used for a sweet muesli.
