What to do with fresh chestnuts for stuffing
I am planning to make a stuffing recipe that calls for canned or vacuum-packed chestnuts, but I want to substitute fresh chestnuts. Can I peel the chestnuts in advance? If so, how do I store them? Should I roast the chestnuts before adding them to the stuffing, or just remove the shells? I have found plenty of directions in my cookbooks and online for how to peel them, but nothing addressing these questions. Thank you!
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3 Comments:
cut an x in the rounded side and then bake them for about 20 minutes at 350 until the cuts in the shells pop up. peel them while they're still warm. you can store them for a day or two with no problem. i always use fresh chestnuts in my stuffing and roast them that way before adding them.
cybercita at 7:15PM on 11/23/08
You have to cook them before you can use them in the stuffing. You can roast as suggested above by Cybercita or you can cook them in a pan.
Cut a deep X into the nuts - if they split apart, don't sweat it. Put a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pan and melt it. Toss the chestnuts in the butter until they are fully coated. Add a sprinkling of salt. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan, cover the pan and cook on low heat between 10 and 20 minutes (depending on size of chestnuts). When the nuts are tender enough to pierce, you can take them off the heat. Let them cool enough to handle. Because of the butter, the shells and papery inner skin should come clean away from the nuts. You can store them in a ziplock in the fridge or freezer until you need to include them in the stuffing.
therealchiffonade at 8:50PM on 11/23/08
In terms of overall labour, oven-roasting them is probably your best bet; cracking away the shells of the roasted nuts is easier and more complete than peeling them fresh.
You can also poach peeled fresh chestnuts in broth for about 5 minutes (I did this the other day, when I made pumpkin chestnut soup), which adds a layer of flavour.
Pan roasting sounds delicious, but if you're pressed for time on Thanksgiving day, you may want to give that a go on a day that you have more leisure.
mongoose at 3:08AM on 11/24/08