Is there any secret to removing the skin on a roasted chestnut?
emerogork
I looked it up on the internet. A Martha Stuart site was titled "How to shell Chestnuts". It described how they are grown, how to select them, how to score the top, temperature/time to cook but then all it says is "Peel and eat them warm". ):
The outer shell is usually not a problem and about 50% of the time, the inner skin comes off easily but what about the rest of them? Squeezing, rolling in a towel, rubbing, you name it, I believe I have tried them all.....
Suggestions welcome.
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If scored properly, the X on top and down the sides enough, then cooked/roasted...the skins come off easily. What a tragic reminder that our trusted grocery was out this year last friday....grrrr really wanted roasted chestnuts today.
I simmer/steam, rest to cool a bit or let rest waiting...colander set aside sometimes a few hours. Then roast on the grill if it is hot/warm from other cooking or in the oven.
After finding too many worms in too many chestnuts, I too to buying them cooked and hermetically sealed from Trader Joe's. :)
Have only tried roasted chestnut ONE time... a million years ago while in college and in NYC checking out holiday lights. Maybe cuz from a street cart, but NOT a keeper?? Would definitely like to try them again... prepared by someone who knows what they're doing?!?
If you don't need the chestnut in perfect shape, all you have to do is to cut the nut in half and scoop the "meat" out with a small spoon.
Otherwise boiling makes it easy to peel the thin skin while it is hot.
dcarch
We used to oven roast chestnuts all the time (score a deep X through shell & skin on flat side, then roast @ 425F on a baking sheet or shallow pan until skins opened up & curled back) & any little bits of the skins that stuck were never an issue for us. Perhaps they were not cooked through? Or does age/freshness factor in?
Sadly, I haven't seen fresh chestnuts in local stores for some time now.
Why do you feel you need to remove them completely?
Can you take a sharp paring knife & scrape off...?
Make a single straight cut, deep enough to get through outer and inner skins, and almost as long as the chestnut is wide. Boil the chestnut for at least 15 minutes. Then roast. When the roasted chestnut has cooled enough to handle, put a finger at each end of the cut and squeeze the chestnut. The shell will deform, the cut will gape open so that you can insert a finger and start pulling off the shell, and because the chestnut was boiled, the inner skin will have separated enough from the flesh to be easily peeled off. Done with skill and experience, this works 70% of the time :-)