So what’s Pecan Meal anyway?
Pecan Store August 17th, 2010
We get this question at the Pecan Store all the time: what’s pecan meal? Pecan meal is simply finely ground pecan pieces. During the pecan shelling process, we separate the desirable pecan halves from the large, medium, small and midget pieces. Each of these items is boxed separately and then sold to customers all over the world. Naturally, we had leftover pecan bits and pieces that couldn’t be used for much…that is, until it occurred to someone that all those tiny pecan pieces were similar to the look and texture of flour, and pecan meal was born!
Pecan meal is the perfect substitute for flour in baking, or bread crumbs in cooking. And because pecans are gluten free, they make the perfect addition to a gluten free diet. I’ve included my two favorite pecan meal recipes below. If you have a favorite recipe that incorporates pecan meal, let us know in the comments. We would love to read them!
Liana’s Pecan Breaded Pork Chops
Serves 4
Cook time: Approximately 45 minutes
Ingredients
4 lean pork loin cuts
Dijon mustard
1 cup Pecan Meal
2 tablespoons pecan oil
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Place the pecan meal in a shallow bowl or pie plate, and the mustard in a second shallow bowl. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper to taste, and then coat them in the dijon mustard. Next take the chops and coat them in the pecan meal.
3. Heat 2 tablespoon pecan oil in a non-stick skillet. Place the chops in the pan and cook approximately 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.
4. Place pork chops on foil wrapped baking sheet and bake in oven approximately 30 minutes or until center reaches a temperature of 160 degrees F.
Butter Shortbread
Courtesy of Sunset Magazine
Ingredients
1 cups flour
1 cup Pecan Meal
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coarse sugar (sometimes called sparkling sugar)*
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Put flour, pecan meal, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until blended, then increase to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together.
2. Press dough evenly into a 9-in. round cake pan. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
3. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Cut still-warm shortbread with a fork, tines down, into 16 wedge-shape pieces with shaggy edges. Cool completely, then invert pan onto a work surface and carefully separate cookies.
4. Top with apricot or raspberry preserves, and toasted pecan halves.
*Find coarse sugar in the baking aisle.
Make ahead: Up to 5 days. Store airtight up to 1 week.
