Here at La Casa del Whacko in beautiful downtown Spring, TX, just across the sewage canal from the creosote plant we likes our snack foods, sho-nuff.
Oh, we enjoy all those tater chits from the Wiggley Piggly, BBQed, Shrimp flavored, Vinegared, even the rare, but sought after Potato flavored ones. An' jerky, blind robins, pickled eggs, beef sticks, beer nuts, goober peas and pig's feet are all in high demand by the philosophers, day drunks and lay abouts who denizen the High Ceiling, our town's premier, (and only), hydration parlor.
But the golden fleece of the snack universe has to be the Sweet Spicy Pecan...
10 oz pecan halves, 1 egg white, 1-1/2 Tbl melted, cooled butter, 1/2 tsp real vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp buttered pecan flavoring, optional, 1/2 tsp cayanne pepper, 1 tsp kosher salt, 2 Tbl water, 2-1/2 Tbl Somerset County maple syrup
This recipe works best in a full size convection oven or it's smaller cousin, the air fryer. In the fryer do small batches. Line a 1/2 sheet pan w/ parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 300° F. Mix everything but the pecans in a medium bowl. Whisk everything up good for 30-45 seconds or so to amalgamate and introduce some air into the mixture. Stir in the pecans. Make sure they are completely covered in the mixture. Pour out onto the sheet pan, using a flexible spatula to scrape out all the liquid. Arrange the nuts in a single layer. They will be touching but that's okay. Roast for 10 min. Stir then single layer, 10 min again, stir & single. Now keep your eye on them. Check often, don't burn them. In another 8 - 10 min they shoud be pretty dry and well roasted. Stir 'em once or twice while ya let 'em cool. Eat 'em.
Adjust the sweet/spice fraction to suit your taste. Careful, though, they're addictive. You'll be makin' 'em late at night in a dark kitchen and callin' 'em "My Precious"...
My next batch is going into the smoker, (pecan wood), for the last roast/stir cycle... and maybe the water'll be replaced w/ bourbon...
Use ONLY real maple syrup from Somerset County, PA in this recipe. Any thin else is bad Ju-Ju and I ain't responsible.
Uncle Shorty
The German Cajun
