Roasted Bacon Hazelnuts

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Roasted Bacon Hazelnuts are  ♫ ♫ MAGICAL  ♫ ♫.  Salty, smokey, nutty.  They are everything you want in a snack. 

Last month Charlie and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon and while there we drove though Willamette Valley going to the coast.  Along the way we saw a farm stand selling nuts. Queue excitement for road side food, because pulling over on the side of the road and buying local goodies is always a highlight of any trip. 

In addition to selling us a boat load of nuts, the owner of the stand gave us a little lesson on Oregon hazelnuts.  Who knew Oregon produces 99 percent of the U.S. hazelnut crop?  It is actually a growing industry in Oregon.  Around 50% of the crop is exported each year and farmers are planting new trees every year.  Who knew? 

We continued our day driving to the coast and stopped for a bite to eat at Red Hills Market.   We order lunch and also a side filberts (aka hazelnuts).  When they arrived they tasted MAGICAL….Nuts toasted with Bacon are ♫ La La La La MAGICAL  ♫ !!!!  

If you love nuts, and you love bacon, you will love me for sharing this recipe with you.  3 Ingredients will make your mouth sing.  I might have already said it but nuts toasted with Bacon are ♫ ♫ MAGICAL  ♫ ♫.

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Roasted Bacon Hazlenuts

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups hazelnuts shelled
• 2 slices thick cut bacon cut into 1/8" lardons
• 2 tbs course salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 300 degrees F.
2. Place shelled hazelnuts on a baking sheet.
3. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until nuts are toasted but not dark brown and skins loosen.
4. Wrap nuts in a dishtowel for 5-10 minutes, until cool.
5. Rub vigorously in towel or in your hands to remove skin.
6. In pan on medium heat render bacon, reserve.
7. In hot pan add nuts to bacon fat. Cook for 2-3 minutes until nuts coated.
8. Mix in rendered bacon and salt.
9. Place in bowl and serve warm

A few cooking tips:

Make sure to only put a single layer of nuts on your sheet pan when roasting them in the oven.  

Use a towel to loosen and remove skins.  If you don’t have a towel you can use your hands but it’s kind of a pain in the rear.  

The coarser the salt the better.  I bought some sea salt flakes in Portland and they were perfect.  

Server the nuts warm.  The heat brings out the natural sweetness of the nuts.  IF, and that is a big IF, you have leftovers pop them back in a hot oven for 2-3 minutes to reheat.  

Enjoy!