The Salting and Roasting Plant at Eagle Ranch is the only one of its kind in New Mexico. Here our pistachios are put on trays before they are put into a “batch” roaster to pre-heat.
After the pre-heat, the pistachios are dumped into a rotating drum called a sprayer. High pressure nozzles inside the sprayer disperse a fine mist of salt water for the salted nuts. The heavier coatings, like the red chile, are poured over the nuts and worked as the drum turns so each nut is evenly coated.
The trays are returned to the oven to have the coating “roasted” onto the nut. Using a batch roaster is labor intensive, but it gives the most flavorful, even roasting of the pistachios.
