Go to the Article: Tips & Tricks: Deep-Fried Glassy Nuts
This did not work out for me either. I spent 4 hours thinking I was doing something wrong only to read these comments thereafter and see that maybe this recipe wasn't tested as thoroughly before it was posted. I hope to have better luck with other recipes. Chefsteps Please refine this recipe with more details specific to the types of nuts and/or sugar brand, timing etc.
I made this recipe using pecans and followed the instructions exactly. They didn't turn out. The sugar totally crystallized immediately, and never dissolved into glassy coating. Just clumps of sugar crystals on the surface. The nuts also never floated, I ended up taking them out when they started to get dark. Don't know what you did differently to get the glassy sheen!
It took 3 tries for me to get this one right. I used walnuts the first time because that's all I had, but they were only glassy in spots - the rest was that powdery crispiness that wasn't appealing. The second time, I tried pecans and and waited until they floated - way overcooked, tasted slightly burnt, edible but not perfection. The third time was the charm, but they needed something, so I salted them and got the results I was hoping for. I've had commercially sold ones and thought they were interesting; a different kind of nut treats. These are better because they're fresh. Thanks for the tips.
Spray the rack with oil - works like magic.
Hi Usman, I am so happy to hear that you are trying so hard to get it right but I'm bummed that we failed to connect the dots for you. I went through all the comments and its looks like lots of people are having great results but when they don't, there are some emerging themes. Check out the recipe above, I added some more notes in there for you. Thanks for helping us out.
Where is my comment..wth
I never comment on here, but I actually decided to comment today to help people about this terrible video. First of all, the biggest issue in this is the whole "toss it in powdered sugar" In the video he drains it and tosses it around saying it "should look like muddy buddies" Yeah...I don't know what the hell happened in production, but I do my own test-kitchen style tests on recipes I'm skeptical about (especially this one with something as finnicky as sugar and as expensive as Pecans!). It was an utter fail. No matter how much "muddy buddy" my two tests were, they always ended up in corn starch (from the powdered sugar) gelatinizing on the surface of the pecans and walnuts I tried [Aka looking like little white bits on the outside of the nuts as THREE posters mentioned they had the same issue. ]. And yes, I made sure the walnuts were adequately wet) - but then again they strained a good bit of water off in their video and shook it with 1 QUART of powdered sugar....SOOOO?
So...what's the answer? If you look at the comments, only 1 poster got it right: Add just enough water until it forms a "slurry" or basically a THICKISH sort of whiteish GLOOP (looks almost like some kind of body fluid from the nose - sorry but the best way to put it! lol). Which pisses me off. I can legitmately never trust ChefSteps videos because they feel too "edited", and dare I say: too try-hard.
Show me an uncut video of this guy doing the nuts frying after he shakes it like a maraca and not ending up with corn-starch bubbles...PLEASE! I also used a PolyScience to ZONE in the fryer oil temp, so don't even tell me I did too much or too little. I feel they leave things out all the time, and I always take their videos with heavy bags of salt.
Anywho, once you toss the pecans in the GLOOP - you toss it in a fryer. This is another problem. 325, depending on volume is nowhere near enough. My oil dropped to 270 once added to 325. I recommend 340. Not only will this brown up better, but the added benefit and another HUGE problem with this recipe: moisture. Try it their way, end up with nasty non-crunchies the next day. So it's better to fry it MORE, risk "burning" the sugar (which you won't due to the moisture you added to form the previously mentioned GLOOP) - and then you end up with the nuts as shown on the video, with actual added benefits!
Another thing - not sure why on earth he says to fry it for 3-5 minutes at 325. I found even at 325, this was overkill and they floated to the top in under 1.5 minutes....bottom line : remove them when they float or let them go even longer if you can without burning them! I can assure you at 340 at about 2-3 minutes, this was ideal. They crunch like a mofo.
You're welcome folks! I wasted my Pecans so you don't have to.....
Picture proof below VVV
https://i.imgur.com/GMI8EVn.jpg
i know these posts are old, but I am wondering...the first time I made this was great. The last time I made them many of them stuck to the cooling rack. When I removed them, it messed up the pretty look. I am not sure what I did different. Any thoughts? Thanks!
I used these glassy pecans in my "Boat runs aground on Island and is leaking Fuel creating an environmental disaster in the Creme Anglaise Sea" mini-dessert. OK, it was really a mini Floating Island with sous vide dulche de leche served in a Chinese soup spoon lol (recipe on Facebook Cook With Joule group).
Sort of like sous vide eggs...in principle this recipe is very easy, but trickier than you think. Some suggestions that may address some of the issues people have had:
1) You want a nice even coating of dry-looking powdered sugar, with minimal soggy clumps and stuck-together nuts. Let the nuts drain (but not fully dry) well in a colander after blanching, use a lot of powdered sugar in a large container, and separate any nuts that stick to each other with your fingers.
2) Deep-fry, with regular swirling to break apart clumps, until the sugar has melted on most of the nuts. In my case, this took 9-10 minutes, and I only ever saw a couple of nuts start to float. If you remove the nuts before the sugar has fully melted, you will get the uneven & lumpy appearance that people are complaining about.
3) The trickiest part is that you don't want to let them go too long, since you will see sugar starting to caramelize in the bottom of the pan and eventually take on a burnt flavor. When you separate the nuts on a cookie rack (do this quickly, since they will solidify in 3 or so minutes), you can separate out those that look significantly darker and may have taken on a unpleasant burnt caramel flavor.
I just made these in 3 batches. 1st batch came out looking uneven and lumpy, nothing like the video, but when cooled it was crunchy and sweet. 2nd and 3rd batches came out looking how they’re supposed to, but why? I found that some of the sugar from the 1st batch melted on the bottom of my cast iron skillet. When frying the 2nd and 3rd batches, I made sure to constantly mix them in the oil, which I think helped coat the pecans in the melted sugar.
Will definitely make again!!! So yummy...
What am I doing wrong? I've attempted this twice now (pecans and then cashews) and have failed for the most part both times. I blanch the nuts, strain, toss in powdered sugar until well coated, and then fry at as close to a constant 325 as I can manage. Never once have I had a nut float to the surface. Some of the pecans came out nicely, but most had craggy patches of powdered sugar. Few of the cashews reached a glossy state. They would have stuck to the bottom of the pan if I hadn't stirred. When removed from the hot oil they looked candied but far from glassy.
Does anyone have any advice? How long should the nuts stay in the oil? This seems as though it should be simple but I just can't seem to figure it out. Please help.
Im no chef but, sugar glazes at a certain temperature. Your one batch that got glassy reached the right temp, while the others failed to fully caramelize. I would use a candy thermometer or an induction cooktop to regulate temp. When the pecans float at 325F - you icy.
Is there a place where the short list of ingredients is listed and more importantly, the amounts or do we just wing it? I know to use raw nuts, powdered sugar, salty water, frying oil, anything else? I'm an Ina Garten style cook. I live in a world of measurements until I begin to know a procedure and recipe very well. Just winging it is unexplored territory for me most of the time.
Last year one batch of mine came out glassy, and the second came out with a chunky sugar coating. This year they all came out chunky. They're still tasty, but just don't look as fancy. I did try and make sure that the nuts had a thick even coating of sugar. (Some of them ended up looking like dragée, the coating was so thick.) Wondering if my oil was either too cool or too hot (I didn't have the sense to double check using my Thermapen.) People still loved them!
You just blanch them in water once. There is no sugar to water ratio, you're not mixing the sugar with the water, and it doesn't really come into contact with one another, I'm not sure where your second question is coming from.
vinegar might have interesting results to, will try next time I do them......
Replace the water with beer (I've tried a ipa, wheat beer and a porter, all with different but good end results), let the nuts soak in the beer overnight, remove and drain uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out. Coat with icing sugar and deep fry, these will take a bit longer to cook due to the added moisture but the end result is well worth waiting for, sprinkle over a really good sea salt when they're still sticky and cooling (I used smoked maldon sea salt)) I served them with candied fennel seed, smoked bacon and a pint of beer = very happy people!!!!
how many timse boiling( water+sugar )in walnut ?
and water ,sugar ratio is 1:1 right ?
Can i make it with Hazelnuts? should i buy the pilled ones or can i do it myself?
Hi there! That is indeed a thermometer gauge since we try to keep the oil at 325 °F / 163 °C. You can find our thermometer recommendations here.
I'm curious about the wire-like thermometer probe that looks like it is sitting at the bottom of the pot in this video. What is that exactly?
I think this part of the recipe (blanching) isn't clear in the written instructions. If you watch the video (which I did after they came out burnt and acidic) then it is clear how they blanched the nuts. I think that was my problem. I will try again as this is my first failure with ChefSteps in many many tries.
THESE are going in my Christmas Boxes, this year. I am SO looking forward to this one. On question. How would you add salt? just a skotch in the powdered sugar? or would you salt the finished nuts on the outside of the sugar glass?
My cashews keep coming out looking like this. What's with the little clumps of sugar?? Not really the deep color I'm looking for in the cashew, fry it longer? It's about 6-7 min right now...
These are amazing, I tried and it is really delicious thanks for the recipe
man, i just made this with almonds. 10/10, tastes exactly like the candied almonds I had as a kid at Disney World. gooood stuff.
Toasting the nuts beforehand, does it add or subtract from the final product?
These are amazing! Thank you.
Taste was great and they were glassy. On the other hand, the surface was also oily and over a couple of days the nuts lost their crispness. I didn't cool the nuts after blanching nor did I let them dry. The powdered sugar was sort of melted on the nuts before frying. Maybe this was the issue leading to the oily surface. Thoughts?
Why in the HELL did y'all show me this!!! 2lbs of pecan meats just disappeared. Isn't there some autonomic mechanism that's supposed to kick-in to force you to stop eating incredibly rich food!! Well this wrecked mine and I get an absolute zero for self control. (They came out perfect)
On a cooking note: My nuts appeared to stop frying completely at about 3 minutes in. I took my tester nut out when it floated to the top at about the two minute mark and it was only okay. I set my timer for 6 min 30 sec and, like it said, it looked like there was nothing in fryer after about 3 minutes. They floated, then they sank (?). (I use rice bran oil in my fryer) But when I took them out and spread them on the cooling rack, they were perfect!
Thanks a lot.
My biggest weakness is crunchy, really spicy, slightly salty sweet nuts, so I'm going to try these with cayenne and cinnamon mixed in with the 10x, and use pecans. If it doesn't work I'll be heartbroken...
The same thing happened to me on my first go. The fool proof trick is to add the blanched nuts (chilled) in the powdered sugar and splash in just enough water to dissolve the sugar to create a thick sugary slurry. Fry them at 325 in small batches and comes out super glassy just like in the video! I sprinkled them with salt just as I removed them from the fryer. Let cool completely and enjoy!
Hello ,I tried the caramelized walnuts and it is really delicious Thank you for the recipe.
thanks for the reply Ben. They were still wet and well coated when I put them in the frier. Maybe I should let the sugar melt slowly at lower temp., maybe a degree or two below.
See reply above.
Also, powdered sugar does contain cornstarch. It helps with the texture of various products as well as acting as an anti-caking agent.
It almost seems as though the sugar is not getting wet enough. Do they have a nice even coating of sugar before being fried? The other thing could be the oil is a bit too hot? You should have a nice gentle fry and the sugar should melt and look glassy before you pull the nuts from the fryer.
I had the same issue
Exactly like you did , the sugar contains cornstarch
Hi, I am having some problem with this one. This is te first time I tried something from chefsteps and fail to get similar results... I used first the most common powdered sugar inBelgium and it really didn't look good (see picture). I let them for 7min and they tasted a little burnt. I checked the package and it turned out the sugar was mixed with some cornstarch! I tried again with very fine ground sugar and let it at 163ºC for 5min and it turned out crunchy with a nice taste but without the glassy look! the sugar didn't stick to the nuts. I also tried with pistachio nuts and it also didn't work out! suggestions?
These are amazing. I didn't think they turned out after frying them but once separated and cooled they were brilliant. Once again a great recipe and such detailed instruction... really helps to read to the bottom of the comments list for all the answered questions.
I would try some different spices, or flavor the blanching liquid might be interesting as well.
I haven't tried doing mixed nuts. I would imagine it should work fine, but you would have to try a batch to be certain.
Boil the water and then drop in the nuts!
Quick question about blanching the nuts. Did you start them off in cold water and let it come to a boil like potatoes or did you boil the water first and drop the nuts in?
Would this also work with a bunch of mixed nuts (especially mixes with macadamia nuts), or will the fry times vary strongly?
I tried it just yesterday - they are amazing. Just slightly sweet, very delicate and crunchy. What would you recommend as a coating if I wanted to try different - say savory - flavors?
