Chestnuts?

[ashleenicole]

I'm making the New England Sausage Stuffing with Chestnuts. The recipe calls for bottled chestnuts, which I couldn't find. So, I bought fresh and no idea how to prepare them! Any suggestions are very much appreciated! TIA!

[cakebaker]

Chestnut stuffing is on my menu every year. Here's what I do.
Wash and dry chestnuts. Take a sharp knife and cut an 'X' on the flat side of the chestnut, making sure you cut through the entire shell on that side. Very lightly oil a large pan or line with foil and then oil. Put the chestnuts in the pan and toss lightly to coat. Put in oven at 275* to 300* and roast until the shell where you made the 'X' is peeled back. About 20 minutes-but check every 5 minutes after 15 minutes so they don't burn. Remove from oven and while still hot, but cool enough to handle, peel the outer shell from the chestnut. There is also a sort of furry membrane inside the shell. Make sure you peel that also. Its not difficult to get most of the chestnut meat out in 1 piece. Then use as directed in your recipe.

[ashleenicole]

Thanks so much! Have a great Thanksgiving!

[RiverFarm]

I have a different chestnut technique. We score them and then simmer them in a pan full of water for 15 - 25 minutes, then cool and shell them. Usually the inner skin comes off with the shell, but if it doesn't, since it's wet it's simple to peel off. I think doing it this way is easier than roasting. The flavor is different but it doesn't seem to matter for stuffing. If we're just snacking on them we do roast them, though.

We have two large Chinese chestnut trees so we have a lot of chestnuts!