I know the above title would never make a hit Christmas carol, but for us guys anyway, the microwave is the quickest and easiest way to enjoy chestnuts. Here’s how to do it.
- Take a sharp knife and cut a dozen fresh chestnuts in half as shown in the photo. Don’t use any nuts with brown streaks in the nut meat, only clear and creamy, as you can see to the right.
- Moisten a paper towel and wring out the excess moisture.
- Place the nuts in the towel and fold the four corners over each other into a loose package.
- Pop the chestnut package into the microwave for one minute. You may have to adjust this setting with a bit of trial and error. The end result should produce a slightly mealy chew. Slightly crunchy means you need a bit more time, and slightly rubbery means you went too long.
- Have a small bowl of melted butter handy, in which to dip the nut meat. The best way to extract the meat from the shell is to use a fondue fork. The meat becomes more difficult to extract out of the shell as they cool down, so eat the nuts while they are hot.
There are many other–and more traditional ways–to consume chestnuts, but this is the best for me.
Oh yes, this is chestnut season here, and we have yours waiting for you. Give us a call.