Ingredients

Units Scale

16 oz. whole chestnuts

Instructions

Using a paring knife, slit into the shell and the skin down the side of each chestnut (see note below) – being sure not to pierce too deep as to cut into the meat – place each prepared chestnut into a heat proof bowl
While you slit the chestnuts, bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil
Once all of the chestnuts are slit and the water has come to a boil, pour the boiling water over the chestnuts and let them soak until the water has come to room temperature (about 30-45 minutes)
Place a 12″ cast iron skillet into the oven and preheat to 375f
Once the oven is pre-heated, remove the hot cast iron skillet from the oven and place the soaked chestnuts into the skillet
Return to the oven and roast for 30 minutes – shake the pan every so often to toss the chestnuts around so they roast evenly
When finished roasting, remove chestnuts from the oven and cover the pan with a lid or wrap the nuts in a dishcloth to further steam them if they have not all completely opened up (let them steam for about 10 min more)
Keeping the chestnuts covered so they stay warm, one by one remove each chestnut from their shell & skin
Eat them warm just as is or use in a recipe

Notes

*If using freshly harvest chestnuts, wait about 4-5 days before roasting

*It takes a bit of practice to get the hang of slitting the chestnuts, but to protect yourself from any knife mishaps – you can use a utility knife with just 1/4″ of the blade exposed or alternately wrap your paring knife with some duct tape leaving only 1/4″ at the tip exposed

*If any of the skins remained attached to the chestnuts after following the above process, you can steam them for about 5 minutes to loosen the skin