Chile Coban Pecans (Pecan Crack)

This recipe, as most of my recipes, has a story behind it...

A Chef friend came to stay with me last summer for a few days because we both were attending the same conference in my town. We could catch up, show him around town, hang out...and of course attend the conference together. It just so happened that he brought me some gifts. One gift was several pounds of pecans.

A short time later another friend came back from a trip to Guatemala and gave me a package of Chile Coban, a very specific tasting dried pepper with a bit of smoke flavor. 

[Fast Forward a bit in time...]

Around the Fall holidays I was using a spiced nut recipe because I wanted to create some Christmas gifts and snacks that had a personal touch. But I was very unhappy with the results I was getting from a highly rated internet recipe. BAM! I had a stroke of genius, "Tyrone, why don't you just create your own recipe and use what you have on hand?!". [You won't ever convince me talking to yourself doesn't have its benefits!] And that's how this recipe came to be! 

A personal "Thanks!" goes out to Gary H. and PW. (aka - Pastor Will). This recipe has been tested by hundreds of palates by now with great reviews. The "heat" in this recipe is only noted in taste, not burn.

PS. To all my food service friends, this makes a full sheet pan (2 or 3 of the home cookie/sheet pans) These are best a couple days after making, they get a little crunchier and taste seems to "mature".

Ingredients

3 egg white
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Chile Coban

Or use cayenne, chipotle powder, something with some heat you like.

3 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 pounds pecan halves

Or walnuts, mixed nuts, BUT pecan is my favorite for this.

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.

In a large bowl beat egg white until foamy. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt, Chile Coban, (or substitute), and vanilla.

Whip to "melted marshmallow consistency" Add nuts, and stir to coat. Spread evenly onto prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, until well toasted and golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

The end result...

And it's delicious!

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Pecan Crusted Chicken

Two ways to do pecan crusted chicken that have worked out rather well for me that do not include using flour or breadcrumbs. Can easily be Paleo and gluten free! The chicken can be crusted just on top or completely...some prefer to coat just the top as pecans definitely are not cheap.

First, a long time ago in East Texas I was part of a catering company (Exclusively Yours Catering Company) that specialized in giving people exactly what they wanted when they requested. Sure we did everything from fine dining to back yard BBQ but we also replicated family recipes and created new dishes from scratch based off of our customers wants and needs. One particular time we had a party that wanted pecan crusted chicken and I was so tired of other recipes calling for flour, breadcrumbs, or some other 'gummy' substance that didn't really help the overall taste of the pecan crusted chicken which led me to my first recipe. This is scaled down to a 'family of four' scenario:

4 - 4 to 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 - cup of honey slightly heated
1 - cup of pecans chopped by hand or food processor
2 - tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
1 - tablespoon Emeril's Essence (optional, can use your favorite spice mix that is similar we had one we used to sell online called Secret Seasoning #2)

Salt to taste in dry mix before using chicken. For consistency of chopped pecans see pictures below.

**Preheat oven to 400F. If using commercial convection oven then use 350F.
Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts. Mix dry ingredients including pecans in shallow bowl or pan. Put honey on plate or in bowl and place chicken in it, flip to other side coating evenly then letting excess honey drip off. Now place chicken in dry mix with pecans pressing the chicken down, shaking bowl slightly then flip breast over and repeat. Chicken should be well coated by now. Put in baking dish or sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process till all the chicken is done and on sheet tray. Cook in oven for 20 minutes and check temperature. 165F to 170F internal temperature is what we are looking for...let chicken rest 5 to 10 minutes then serve with honey mustard sauce. ~~

Next recipe called for a little different take on the sweet part of the chicken instead of using honey. Why? Because the honey gave the pecan crusted chicken a taste not everyone liked and the chicken coating came out a little stickier...I am not saying that is a bad thing at all, just different. I think the honey results came out more 'caramel-y' (if that's a word). This time around I used egg whites as the binder:

4 - 4 to 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
4 - egg white slightly beaten
1 - cup of pecans chopped by hand or food processor
2 - tablespoons brown sugar
2 - tablespoons Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1 - pinch of cayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, chipotle, red pepper flake, or whatever form of 'heat' you like! Or none! (This is optional)

**repeat cooking instructions above substituting the egg whites for the honey. ~~

What kind of honey mustard sauce you say?

1 cup preferably local honey (more flavor)
1 cup stone ground or spicy mustard
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of mayo

Mix together in bowl, adjust as you feel needed to your taste buds.

~~ Special shout out to Gary Hoag who I worked with when developing the first recipe! That party was a blast! Second recipe I developed and used in my current kitchen at the academy. Which also was met with excellent reviews.