Recursively symbolize ruby hash keys in a nested structure. Uses refinements instead of monkey patching Hash.

symbolize_recursive.rb

module SymbolizeHelper
  extend self

  def symbolize_recursive(hash)
    {}.tap do |h|
      hash.each { |key, value| h[key.to_sym] = transform(value) }
    end
  end

  private

  def transform(thing)
    case thing
    when Hash; symbolize_recursive(thing)
    when Array; thing.map { |v| transform(v) }
    else; thing
    end
  end

  refine Hash do
    def deep_symbolize_keys
      SymbolizeHelper.symbolize_recursive(self)
    end
  end
end

Like deep_symbolize_keys in Rails, with the addition of symbolizing hashes in nested arrays.