Who needs an open fire to roast chestnuts? You can do it yourself using your oven! Roasting and peeling chestnuts is a relatively simple process. Homemade roasted chestnuts will fill your home with a wonderful aroma– they smell like the winter holidays!
Did you know that chestnuts are sometimes referred to as the “bread of the mountain”? This is because, unlike other fatty tree nuts, chestnuts are much higher in carbohydrates. In northern Italy, before the arrival of corn, ground chestnuts were a key component in making polenta. In early 19th century America chestnuts were very common; so common, in fact, that farmers would allow their pigs to fatten up by eating the extra chestnuts that had fallen to the forest floor. The high quality lumber produced from chestnut trees was often used in furniture making and construction. During the first half of the 1800s a blight that arrived with Asian-imported trees nearly wiped out the American chestnut. Those trees were eventually replaced with heartier and more resistant chestnut trees, which are the type we see most often today. Chestnuts are now viewed as more of a seasonal holiday luxury. If you’ve ever traveled to New York City, you’ve surely noticed the sweet smell of chestnuts being roasted and sold by street vendors. It’s intoxicating!
If you would rather not go through the work of roasting and peeling your own, you can generally find pre-roasted and shelled chestnuts at major supermarkets and gourmet shops. Keep in mind that roasted chestnuts are best eaten right away, as they mold and spoil fairly quickly. NOTE: edible chestnuts are very different from horse chestnuts (commonly found in back yards), which are terribly bitter and toxic. Only use edible culinary chestnuts for roasting!
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How to Roast and Peel Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw chestnuts, in shell
- sharp knife, pot and strainer, large bowl
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. To prepare your chestnuts, grasp them firmly between your thumb and index finger and carefully make a long slice across the rounded top of the chestnut with a sharp serrated bread knife. Careful, the shell is slippery. You should be able to slice it in one motion. If you have trouble cutting through, use gentle sawing motions, don't force the blade down or you run the risk of cutting your hand.
- Be sure to cut all the way through the shell.
- Once all of your chestnuts have been cut, place them into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer.
- Once the water begins to simmer, remove the chestnuts from the water using a mesh strainer or slotted spoon and transfer them to a baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 minutes, or until the shells begin to peel back where you cut into them.
- Remove the chestnuts from the oven. Place them into a bowl and cover with a towel for 15 minutes. Allowing them to steam a bit will make them easier to peel.
- Once the 15 minutes have passed, simply pull on the shell and slip the chestnut out. Some will be easier to peel than others. Both the outer shell and the tough brown skin around the chestnuts should be peeled off. If you run into any nuts that seem gooey or disintegrated inside, it means that they have spoiled. Chestnuts tend to have a short shelf life, spoiled nuts should be tossed.
- Voila! You now have freshly roasted and peeled chestnuts. They're not the easiest things to peel, but these tender, sweet and fragrant nuts are a welcome treat during the winter months.
Wendy says
Very straightforward. They don’t need seasoning or butter like some recipes suggest. Thanks for posting my new favorite method for roasting these bad boys!
Shelley kline says
Thank you, easier then any other method we’ve tried~~Perfection!
Sue says
I made the chestnuts by following your recipe to the tee.
They turned out great and so tasty. I did not have any problems with peeling them. When I took them out of the oven i placed them on a tea towel and crushed the shells. This made the peeling process a lot easier.
Kelley P. says
Wonderful! We’ve been roasting chestnuts for years and this was by far the easiest method we’ve ever used! The chestnuts came out moist and peeled easily! Thank you!
Cristein says
Just tried this method. I’m a first timer and was curious to what all the chestnut hype was. They peeled very easily for me and they are yummy!
Mr. Harper, S. says
Thank You! When I put the chestnuts in the simmering water, some floated and other sank to the bottom of the pan. The ones that sank are they not to be bake do to the fact they may be bad chestnuts?
Thank You again its most appreciated.
Maggie says
Hello~ This was my second attempt at roasting chestnuts that failed and I’m not sure what the issue is. They end up hard as rocks – totally inedible. I followed the recipe step by step. Any suggestions? Are they just roasted to long? Are they poor quality?
Thank you!
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Maggie, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! It’s possible that your chestnuts have gone bad. When choosing chestnuts you should look for healthy, unwrinkled shells with glossy brown exterior. Dingy or mottled shells may indicate mold, and small pinholes likely mean worms, so avoid these. Fresh chestnuts are firm and heavy feeling. When you squeeze them there shouldn’t be empty space between the shell and the nut inside. Also be sure you haven’t picked horse chestnuts, which are not edible and are actually toxic. Hope this helps!
CM Kayafas says
All of your suggestions work however after years of consuming these treats, here is what I have leaned. You can usually find them at your grocery store mid November. Bring them home and store them in a air tight container with about a tablespoon of water per pound added into an air tight container and this will keep them fresh and moist for at least another 45 days. You can then eat them at-will by simply cutting perpendicular on the rounded side as Ashley describes and then mircowaving them for about 30 seconds per nut. Usually I place about for 4 in the microwave for 2 mins and then let them cool for about 2 mins and they are perfect. The nut pops right out and they are to die for. The key is to keep them moist and roast them with heat via oven or microwave…. and as the expand, they will pop out of their shell whole with a little coaxing….. Enjoy…..
Colleen Asked says
Just wondering if fresh roasted has better flavor and texture then ones in the bag from Galil?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Colleen, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! It’s really a personal preference, but personally I prefer fresh roasted chestnuts for snacking and prepackaged for cooking with.
Anthony Ingrassia says
Old Italian method uses a cross-cut X which helps in peeling. Also use a 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt in the quart of water. This mimics the natural salt content to prevent loss of flavor, then simmer for 5 minutes before roasting @ 400F for 30 minutes. Works well to soften tough nuts and increase eatable yield. Always works for me, as it did for my Italian ancestors.
Harry Lee says
This helps a lot – original recipe mine came out hard and undercooked. Wish I saw your comment first. I remember seeing the criss cross cuts on a cooking show. Was curious why this recipe did not call for them. The 5 minutes simmer along with the lower temp but longer cooking time in the oven do help with the hardness and undercooked chestnuts.
Fulvia Petrelli says
Tank you, Anthony! We had chestnut trees in Italy and the nuts seemed to taste sweeter and more flavorful than the ones I buy here. Childhood memories, maybe? But the salt-bath sounds like a great idea to enhance flavor! Will try!
Olivia says
Hi I’m just wondering how you select your chestnuts at the store? Soft ones? Hard ones? What should I look for? Also I have been told to look for itialian chestnuts, where do you like yours to originate from? I haven’t had much luck with the Asian ones. Thanks
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Olivia, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. When choosing chestnuts you should look for healthy, unwrinkled shells with glossy brown exterior. Dingy or mottled shells may indicate mold, and small pinholes likely mean worms, so avoid these. Fresh chestnuts are firm and heavy feeling. When you squeeze them there shouldn’t be empty space between the shell and the nut inside.
Michelle Gojkovich says
Great article. Thank you. I have a big suggestion for safety. Instead of holding the chestnuts between your fingers to slice with the serrated bread knife, better to use a simple pair of vice grip to hold the chestnut. Easy and safe. Takes the worry out of the whole process 🙂 I took a picture and tried to post it with this comment but it won’t let me. If you have an email address I can send the pic to let me know.
chestnut.jpg
Barbara says
I am roasting chestnuts this weekend. Never tried it before. .was told to slit them and roast in oven approximately 25min.
I am really tempted to try boiling them first but never heard of this method. .If I mess this up I must wait for a year to get more.
Frank says
Hi all, I just finished the roasted chestnut’s and since like 1975 I haven’t tasted them since my grandmother they came out wonderful. I followed the receipt step by step and its Great!!! Thank You so much for bringing chestnut’s back in to my home…Frank
abe artmann says
Thank you for sharing your recipe with us Tori.
The first two chestnuts popped out of their shells nicely but the rest I had to scoop out with a spoon. I understand the entire process except I allowed the water to boil vs simmer. What is the secret to gauge the perfect simmering temperature before the boiling point?
Happy Holidays,
Abe
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Abe, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! With a simmer you’re looking for small, consistent bubbles across the surface of the water, rather than the large bubbles you see when the water is boiling. Hope this helps and happy holidays to you as well!
Marge says
Thank you for this method. Growing up my grandmother always made apple chestnut stuffing. She cut an X then roasted them in a cast iron skillet, covered. My job was to peel them for her, which was very hard. There is a store very close to me that sells fresh chestnuts for the holidays and I can’t resist buying them, but was looking for easier way to do them.
Bill says
This worked out really well for me. The chestnuts were soft and delicious. Thanks.
Susan Opperman says
This was the first time that I peeled big beautiful chestnuts without having them crumble to bits. Best method I’ve used in many years!
Jerry Eisner says
Excellent technique. Our family has spent many Thanksgiving eves peeling chestnuts to use in stuffing. It is always a very difficult chore, leaving fingers painful from peeling away shell and pellicle. Ms Avey’s method increases the likelihood that the meat will pop out from its shell in the most satisfying way, with less effort and pain. I noticed that the chestnuts swell a bit in the water and come out with the shell separating a bit before they go into the oven.
Susan says
I have used roasted chestnuts in my stuffing for years (recipe passed down from my mom) and the job of peeling them has always been the part I definitely didn’t look forward to. I always buy 2# in the hopes to yield at least 3/4 of a pound as most the skin doesn’t come off. I’ve googled alternate methods the last few years. From slits on the bottom, slits on the top, x’s, etc. I tried Tori’s method today and have to say I may not dread this part anymore. I ended up with a beautiful bowl of WHOLE chestnuts with no leftover skin!! I am so excited!! I didn’t ruin my manicure either like I usually do. Thanks for sharing, Tori!!
Cathy says
Unbelievable— this REALLY works