# Hickory Nuts



## rabbithutch (Aug 24, 2015)

Has anyone ever tried using hickory nuts to add flavor?

Years ago, when I lived in NC and had a native hickory tree in the back yard, I'd pick up the nuts and drop them on charcoal when i was grilling steak.  Even in those days, before learning anything at all about smoking, I was using the offset fire to control the sear and cooling temps.  I found that the nuts added a great taste to ribeyes and NY strips.  IME there are 2 different kinds of hickory nuts.  The one with the really tough shell and almost no meat is the one that worked.  A friend gave me a bag of the other kind and they were not good for what I was doing.

Now that I've gotten into low and slow, I was thinking that hickory nuts sprinkled through a snake weave might be a good idea.  I don't have a source for nuts here in TX and don't know if there are even any of the right type of hickory trees here.  I was thinking though that a lot of you guys living in the eastern hardwood zones might have tried the nuts and could report on results.

TIA

:grilling_smilie:


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## geos (Aug 26, 2015)

I have a Pig nut Hickory (the hard kind) in my backyard, I've used the fallen nuts for smoking and they work fine. Hardest part is to get to them before the squirrels!

I have also read that some guys use Pecan nuts added for smoking with good results, and you can probably get them easier by you.


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## rabbithutch (Aug 27, 2015)

Glad to learn that others have discovered the flavor of pignut hickory nuts.

We have several pecan packagers nearby.  I'm going to look into buying some right off the sheller/picker.


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## boboso (Aug 29, 2015)

I've used pecan shells, and they work great. But don't waste the "meat" inside. Too good. Just the shells. Real plentiful in the Texas Hill Country.


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## casmurf (Aug 29, 2015)

I also use pecan shells a lot works great. I have found that if there is a lot of meat left in shells that the smoke becomes bitter.


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