Braised Chestnuts

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* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Braised Chestnuts

 

Recipe By :Slow Cooker Cooking, Lora Brody

Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Slow Cooker Cooking

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

3 pounds fresh chestnuts -- carefully picked over to avoid those

with worm holes or mold

boiling water to cover the chestnuts

 

Place each chestnut flat side down on a work surface and sue a heavy, sharp

chef's knife, a 1-inch chisel, and a hammer, or a chestnut knife to cut a deep

slit that extends at least halfway through the chestnut. (If you accidently cut

some nuts in half, it's all right.) Place the chestnuts in the slow cooker, and

the water, cover, and cook on high for at least 2 1/2 hours and up to 5 hours,

or until the shells have begun to curl back and the meat is slightly tender.

Reduce the slow cooker heat to low.

 

If you have them, it's best to wear a pair of thin rubber (surgical) gloves when

you peel the chestnuts, as they are very drying and will irritate your hands.

Remove one chestnut at a time from the slow cooker and then replace the lid.

Place the chestnut on a work surface and use a chef's knife to cut it in half.

Squeeze each piece of shell so that the meat falls out. Use a butter knife with

a rounded end to scrape out any lingering meat, trying not to dislodge the thin

dark inner peel as you do so. As you remove the meat, check for moldy, rotten,

or wormy nuts, and discard them. The chestnut meat can be stored in heavy-duty

resealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer

for up to 3 months.

 

S(ISBN):

" 0-688-17471-X "

Copyright:

" 2001 "

Yield:

" 6 cups "

 

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 0 Calories; 0g Fat (0.0% calories from

fat); 0g Protein; 0g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 0mg

Sodium. Exchanges: .

 

NOTES : Fresh chestnuts appear in markets during the fall -- just in time for

Thanksgiving stuffing and fancy Christmas desserts like Mont Blanc. Canned

chestnuts don't begin to measure up in flavor and texture to fresh ones. The

problem with fresh chestnuts, however, is that it is a pain to remove the hard

outer shell and the thin peel stubbornly attached to the nut. One rather

unsatisfactory method is to roast them in an inch or two of water, then burn

your fingers as you try to peel them while still hot.

 

The best way I've found so far is the slow cooker method. You have a good deal

of flexibility in the cooking time, and the chestnuts stay warm enough to peel

without burning you. If you want your chestnuts to be in large pieces, then use

the shorter cooking time; otherwise, let them cook until they are quite soft.

The result will be tasty crumbles that can be used in Chestnut, Cranberry and

Corn Muffin Bread Pudding (page 158), Cream of Chestnut Soup (page 64) and

Candied Chestnuts in Syrup (page 20).

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0