Smoked Chocolate Fudge with Walnuts

This chocolate fudge recipe is easy and delicious. You mix everything together in one pan and smoke it on a pellet grill for added richness.

What is fudge?

Fudge is like a cross between a chocolate bar and a brownie. It doesn’t have any flour, so it’s not cake-like, but it is cut into squares like brownies. However, it’s rich and melty like a candy bar.

There are several ways to make fudge. The traditional way is to cook down sugar, butter and milk until it reaches the soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer. Then, you mix that with chocolate and let everything set.

While that type of fudge recipe is delicious, the method I’m sharing today is much easier.

Instead of cooking down the ingredients, I use canned sweetened condensed milk, which is made with sugar and milk. It’s already thickened, so you don’t need to boil anything down.

Once you master this foolproof fudge recipe, you can play around with the ingredients and try making smoked peanut butter fudge, maple pecan fudge and even marshmallow cream fudge.

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• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate is a balance between milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
• Bittersweet Chocolate Chips: These are dark chocolate chips. They have more cacao, giving them a richer, chocolate flavor.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: You’ll need two cans. Make sure you don’t grab the evaporated milk by mistake. That won’t work in this recipe.
• Vanilla: I use vanilla bean paste because it’s richer. Vanilla extract or any other flavoring like whiskey or maple syrup will work fine, too.
• Walnuts: Nuts are completely optional, but I happen to like them in my fudge. You can also use pecans, cashews, peanuts or even macadamia nuts.
• Sea Salt: The contrast of sweet chocolate with a little saltiness is magical, so I finish the top of the fudge with a pinch of sea salt. This is also optional.

VARIATIONS: This recipe uses 2 parts semi-sweet chocolate and 1 part bittersweet chocolate. To make dark chocolate fudge, use 1 part semi-sweet and 2 parts bittersweet. 

See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.

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How to smoke chocolate fudge on a pellet grill

The great news is you don’t need a double boiler for this recipe. Instead, you’ll be melting the chocolate on the grill.

Heat your grill to 200F degrees with an indirect heat zone. Hickory, apple or cherry wood pellets are good choices for this recipe.

You can also make this on a different style grill. Just make sure you can get the temperature down to 200F degrees with an indirect heat zone. Otherwise, you may burn the chocolate.

1. STEP ONE: Line a 13×9 pan or baking dish with aluminum foil. This will make removing the fudge so much easier. There is no need to grease the foil. Heavy duty aluminum foil is best so it doesn’t tear.

PRO TIP: You can also cut this recipe in half and smoke it in a smaller square pan. 

2. STEP TWO: Place the chocolate chips, condensed milk and vanilla in the prepared pan. Gently stir everything together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add pats of butter on top.

3. STEP THREE: Place the pan on the smoker along with a separate pan with the walnuts. Smoke for 30 minutes.

4. STEP FOUR: After the first 20 minutes, stir the chocolate. It should be partially melted at this point.

5. STEP FIVE: After the final 10 minutes, all of the chocolate should be melted. Remove the pans from the smoker. Fold the smoked walnuts into the chocolate mixture and smooth the top.

PRO TIP: At this point, you can also mix in other ingredients into the fudge mixture like pretzels, miniature marshmallows, peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips.

6. STEP SIX: Sprinkle the top of the fudge with a few pinches of sea salt or any other toppings you may like, such as coconut or sprinkles. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 3 hours.

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How to serve chocolate fudge

Lift the foil out of the pan and remove the foil from the fudge. Place it on a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, slice the fudge into pieces.

It’s really rich, so I recommend going with small squares. People can always grab more than one.

Homemade chocolate fudge is a great sweet treat to share during the holiday season. With this easy recipe with the unique kiss of smoke, people will love getting it as a gift.

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Storage

Store leftover fudge in an airtight container. You can leave it on your counter at room temperature for a couple of weeks or store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.

You can also freeze fudge. Just be sure to wrap it air tight, so you don’t end up with ice crystals. I usually wrap it in wax paper and then place it in a freezer bag. It will last in the freezer for up to six months.

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