Smoked Pub Mix

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Vegetarian/Gluten-free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 17 cups of pub mix/34 servings of 1/2 cup serving size

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours if made in a smoker/45-50 minutes if baked in the oven

Equipment Needed:

• Smoker

• Large bowl/container/prep tub

• Glass measuring cup

• Wooden spoon or rubber/silicone spatula

• 1 or 2 large sheet pans

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups Chex cereal, any variety or combination

• 6 cups Gardetto's Snack Mix (about 1 family size bag)

• 1 cup cashews, or any nut of your choice

• 2 cups Snyder's of Hanover Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Pieces

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Procedure:

1. Preheat smoker to about 215 degrees Fahrenheit, or an oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using wood chips, I recommend a harder wood such as mesquite or hickory vs. softer/fruitier woods like apple or cherry that might not be assert enough smoke flavor.

2. In a large bowl or prep tub, add the Chex cereal, Gardetto's, cashews, and honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces.

3. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, and paprika.

4. Pour the butter mixture over the Chex mixture. Use a wooden spoon or rubber/silicone spatula to mix everything together, taking care to thoroughly coat everything in the butter mixture while not crushing the Chex cereal.

5. Spread the mixture out on 1 or 2 sheet pans; you want as thin of a layer as possible. If you are oven-baking your pub mix, line your sheet pans with parchment paper to lessen the chance of sticking, and for easier clean-up.

6. In the smoker: Smoke until the mixture is light brown and crispy; it takes us about 2 hours and we stir every 20 minutes or so.

7. In the oven: Bake until the mixture is light brown and crispy; 45-50 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes for even cooking.

8. Allow mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan(s).

Tips:

• Some Worcestershire sauces are not gluten-free, so if you are on a gluten-free diet be sure to check the label of your Worcestershire. I used Lea & Perrins brand, and it does say it's gluten-free on the back of the bottle.

• If you are melting your butter in the microwave, watch it very carefully so it doesn't "pop" and make a giant mess.

• My favorite combo of Chex cereal to use is Corn Chex and Wheat Chex; I use 5 cups of the corn and 3 cups of the wheat.

• Make this mix your own! You can sub ingredients in and out as you please; other tasty additions might be Cheez-its, goldfish, cheerios, and peanuts. We also like to mix in M & M's or peanut M & M's after the mix is completely cooled for a sweet and salty treat.

• You could certainly tinker with the spice mix on this one as well; I tried a few combinations before I settled on this one. If you like a spicy mix, try adding some cayenne pepper or Sriracha to your sauce. For a different sweet and salty combo, you could try adding some brown sugar.

• If you like a saucier mix, you could try increasing the amount of butter and/or Worcestershire sauce. I like this amount because I don't want my mix to feel too heavy or soggy, but to each their own!

• Did you know that you can smoke foods even if you don't have a smoker? If you have a charcoal grill, you can arrange hot coals around a foil pan filled with 1-inch of water. Add wood chips or chunks to the pan with water, place your food on the rack above, cover, and cook. With a gas grill, you can add wood chips to a smoker box if your grill has one, or you can place chips in a foil pan, cover with aluminum foil, poke holes in the foil and then place the pan beneath the grate in a corner of the grill. Be sure to cover the grill, and if you will be smoking for longer than two hours you should fill a foil pan with 1 inch of hot water and place it on the grill over a lit burner. Place the food over an unlit burner to smoke.

The Story:

My husband has had a smoker for quite some time, but we got into what I like to call "unconventional smoking" (aka the smoking of things that are not meat) just in the last few years.

The man, the myth, the legend ;)

We have tried smoking Cheez-its (yum), this pub mix, and most recently, granola! I have a great granola recipe, and I was making a batch to gift to friends for Christmas the same morning my husband was smoking this batch of pub mix, so I thought, why not? I threw a cup or so of the granola in a cast iron pan and snuck it in under the pub mix. It turned out *chef's kiss* delish!!

My smoked granola, yum!

Maybe 10+ years ago, I tried a smoked snack mix that my friend's dad had made, and it always stuck with me. Familiar, but interesting and different too; salty, crunchy, with subtle smoke flavor that was just divine. My husband and I have honed this recipe over the last few years and are really happy with this final result. If you are able to get your hands on those mustard and onion pretzel pieces, they really are the secret weapon/flavor bomb of this mix!

A few smokin' fun facts:

*7 out of 10 adults own a grill or smoker in the United States.

*Smoking foods has been around for 6,000 years! Meat was exposed to smoke and low heat to prevent bacteria from growing.

*You can throw a lot of unconventional items in your smoker to give them a smoky and interesting new flavor! Try honey, butter, cream, maple syrup, sugar, salt, garlic, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, olive oil...the list goes on! Maldon flaky sea salt is next on my list of items to try smoking :)

My kids love this mix, and I have half a mind to try smoking some animal crackers soon and see what they think. If you've done any "unconventional smoking," I'd love to hear about it!

Happy tasting!