There’s nothing like feasting on crisp Buttery-Salted Roasted Pecans when trying to curb your hunger or satisfy that beastly snack attack. They’re a no-guilt munch that pleases most with simple preparation and easy storage, but knowing some particulars gets you a consistent outcome every time.
Before roasting, let’s survey some of this nut’s unique qualities.
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Interesting Pecan Food Facts:
Technically the pecan is not a nut but a drupe, which is similar to the peach and plum.
They are native to the good ole’ USA! (where most are grown)
It takes 12 years for a pecan tree to begin producing fruit growing up to 150 feet, 3 feet in diameter, and living up to 300 years.
This nut tree has mammoth qualities.
Pecan shells were roasted and substituted for coffee grinds during WWII. (Tea, please!)
They have a thousand different varieties.
It has its own day of observance on April 14th, National Pecan Day, and July 12th is National Pecan Pie Day. Lest we forget!
Albany, Georgia is the Pecan Capital of the WORLD! (growing more than 600,000 pecan trees)
They are full of fiber and healthy fat, contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Texans claim the pecan as their state tree and invented butter pecan ice cream. Thank you, Texas!
French people in New Orleans came up with the pecan pie, of course!
Wood from the pecan tree is used for furniture, flooring, paneling, and smoking meat.
Pecans can be ground and made into nut milk, pressed into oil, and processed into pecan butter.
The word pecan can be pronounced 2 ways, I prefer the way that doesn’t sound like a facility to relieve oneself.
Now For The Roasted Pecans
Roasting is a cooking method known to deepen and enrich food flavors. This recipe is simple, but there’s a sure way to consistently achieve satisfactory results of crisp Buttery-Salted Roasted Pecans.
So first things first! Melt 3 1/2 tablespoons of salted butter. Not 3 and not 4. Three and one-half! That’s the magic combination. I find 4 leaves your hands and the container too greasy and 3 isn’t enough butter flavor. So there!
Next place 3 cups of pecan halves in a large bowl. That’s just the right amount so that they aren’t fighting for space on the sheet pan and they don’t fly out when giving them a toss in the middle of roasting. Then pour butter over the nuts and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Now, stir, stir, stir to coat every pecan with flavor.
Your next step is to line the sheet pan with parchment paper, place the pecans in a simple layer on the paper and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 12 minutes. Pull them out of the oven and use a long-handled set of tongs to turn the nuts over and stir them around to help each get an even roast. Place them back in the oven and roast for another 10-12 minutes checking the color towards the end. You don’t want them to turn dark brown and have an overdone taste.
Lastly, let them cool then store in a tightly covered container or ziplock bag either in or out of the refrigerator. I usually don’t refrigerate because they get eaten up so quickly.
Of course, only if you have any leftover pecans or succeed in hiding them for later!
Let me know in the comments the ways you like to cook with or roast pecans and if you have any questions about my recipes. I love hearing about your cooking adventures!
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
