Method for Brining Nuts
The disclosed method describes a process for creating brined peanuts that have improved crunch and flavor characteristics compared with conventional peanuts. The nuts are soaked in a brine solution comprising at least 10% salt by weight and water for 6-16 hours. In some embodiments, the brine solution includes other heat tolerant flavors, such as cayenne pepper, hot sauce and capsicum extract. The nuts are drained for at least one hour to a moisture level of 21-24% water by weight. The nuts are then oil roasted at 305° F. for 11 minutes via a technique that fully enrobes the nuts in hot oil, such as a full submersion fry.
1 . A method for preparing crunchy nuts comprising:
preparing a brine solution;
soaking nuts in the brine solution;
draining the brine solution from the nuts; and
oil roasting the nuts.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nuts are peanuts.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the nuts are Virginia peanuts.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the brine solution comprises 9.5-10% salt by weight and water.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the brine solution comprises 90% water by weight.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein said soaking has a duration of 5-6 hours.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the brine solution comprises 9.5% salt by weight and additionally comprises one or more of cayenne pepper, hot sauce, and a capsicum extract.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said soaking has a duration of 6-7 hours.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said soaking has a duration of 5-16 hours.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said soaking is continued until the nuts have 24-35% moisture content.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said soaking is continued until the nuts have 24-26% moisture content.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said draining continues for at least 1 hour.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said draining continues for 1-2 hours.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said draining continues until the nuts have 21-24% moisture content.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nuts are fully enrobed in oil during said oil roasting.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said oil roasting is performed at above 300° F.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said oil roasting is performed at approximately 305° F.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said oil roasting is performed for at least 8 minutes.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said oil roasting is performed for approximately 11 minutes.
20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said oil roasting is performed until the nuts have less than 2% moisture content.
21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said soaking is performed in a square bin.
22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said soaking is performed in a partial vacuum.