I do not enjoy carving pumpkins. As you can see from the above Jack-o-lantern, my artistic skills are quite limited, and I usually get very bored halfway through. I do, however, enjoy roasting pumpkin seeds, and then eating pumpkin seeds, while everyone else is still carving bulbous squashes. I believe my activity is much more fun, especially because I brine the seeds in beer.
Boiling pumpkin seeds in salted water is a pretty standard practice—it tenderizes, flavors, and helps remove any stubborn squash strings—but boiling them in a mixture of beer and vinegar is a genius move (if I do say so myself). You get seeds that are just as tender, but even more flavorful, with a slightly sweet and sour character. To make ‘em, you will need:
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cups white vinegar
1 cup beer (If you want to get extra festive, you can use pumpkin beer as I did.)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Kosher salt
Rinse the pumpkin seeds under hot water in a colander. Dump them in a pot, along with the remaining ingredients, and bring everything to a boil. (Watch carefully because beer is prone to boiling over.) Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the brine cool completely. Drain the brine away from the seeds (use it to pickle something else if you like), pat the seeds dry on paper towels, and toss them in a bowl with the olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 300℉ until they are crispy—about 30 minutes or so—giving everything a stir about halfway through. Season with a little more salt, let cool completely, and enjoy.