I adore chestnuts, but have never had much luck with roasting them at home.
I always seemed to end up with burnt fingers, aching fingernails, and a crumbled nut with glued-on bits of furry skin. I was pretty sure there were two parts to the problem – the chestnuts themselves, and the way I was preparing them.
A couple of weeks ago, I was convinced to try again with these organic chestnuts from Eveleigh Markets. The seller had insisted that, cooked properly, they would be simple to peel.
I then went onto YouTube and found this fabulous clip by Chef John for About.com…
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And you know what? It worked! And it was incredibly simple. The skins just fell away…
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Here is the process, in a nutshell (ugh..sorry, couldn’t resist)..
1. Preheat the oven to 220C (425F) or 200C (400F) with fan. Have a baking pan ready. Using a breadknife, carefully cut a single long slash across the rounded end of each chestnut. Make sure you cut through both the shell and the inner skin.
2. Drop the chestnuts into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt, place the pan over a low heat and bring just to a simmer.
3. Drain the chestnuts and tumble them into the baking pan (as Nigella might say). Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Carefully tip the hot chestnuts into a bowl. The skins should have split as in the photo below. Cover the bowl with a folded tea towel and allow the nuts to steam in their own heat for a further 15 minutes.
5. Peel and enjoy! Out of the entire bowl, I only had four duds which I had to scoop out with a spoon – the rest released from their skins easily and without fuss.
Thanks Chef John! I’m going out to buy more chestnuts now…
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
fantastic.. i have often wondered how to do this.. c
Celi, I’m actually quite excited – I’ve never managed to get them right before. In the past I’ve always ended up swearing and cursing, because the inner skin would stick on like glue and not peel off…
Always good to learn something new, roasting chestnuts is something I have never tried.
Sue, it’s quite addictive! :) I love eating them hot…
These look delish! We always love to eat roasted chestnuts on our visits to Italy. The taste is fabulous. They also make pasta from “castagne” (chestnut) flour that is luscious – nutty and hearty in the fall & winter..
Thanks for stopping by! We’re big fans of chestnut flour – I’ve used it in both breads and cakes…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/02/16/gluten-free-chestnut-brownies/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/11/13/sourdough-chestnut-loaves/
My dad used to roast our chestnuts when I was younger and then after he died- I just didn’t have the heart for it. Then I got married to a chestnut hater- so it has been an on again- off again affair fro me for years. This Christmas, though, I will roast them again according to Chef John and you and drink an eggnog to my dad alongside! :)
Heidi, I’ve found roasting chestnuts a very frustrating effort for years, so it was a joy to find a method that worked so well. I hope you find it works for you too. And I love that it will remind you of your dad.. xx
Sounds so easy. Will I remember this in six month’s time though when our chestnuts are ready? No, so I’m going to write down the instructions now and put it in my Christmas folder.
Now that’s why I blog, Anne! Chestnuts will come around again next year, and I won’t remember how we roasted them if I hadn’t blogged about it! :)
YUMMERS:) Thanks for sharing and Have a Great Day!
Thanks Renee! You too! :)
Sorry, I must be the odd man here but those chestnuts look like mini brains. i’m sure they are good and the process appears really simple. I may have to try it if I can find some good chestnuts in the US. Have a wonderful day.
Sharon, they really do look like brains, don’t they? Walnuts too. I recall seeing them used as such in Halloween treats.. :)
Will bookmark this for Christmas :)
Thanks Sally! Hope all is well, your blog has been quiet and I’ve missed you! x
I soaked mine in boiling water, but obviously need to boil them properly to have picture perfect ones like yours. What are you going to do with them from here Celia? You always have such yummy ideas!
Becca, I love that both you and Amanda assumed I’d do something with them.. xx
Very nice, Celia – now, what did you do with them???
Hehehe…you and Becca know me too well, Amanda. I ate half of them standing up in the kitchen, and made soy sauce chicken and chestnut rice with the remainder. Dead easy to do – chicken thigh fillets were chopped up and marinated in dark and light soy, and a little pepper. Rice was cooked in the microwave. I heated up a little sesame oil with grapeseed oil and fried chopped garlic and ginger, then added the chicken and all the sauce and fried until cooked. A little water was added, followed by the chopped chestnuts and the whole thing heated through. Then it was simply poured over the hot cooked rice and stirred through – the whole thing went back into the microwave for a couple of minutes to cook it all together.
Bagni di Lucca is surrounded by chestnut trees and we gather them in autumn and roast them over an open fire. I have bought my own chestnut roasting implement which is a double side grate with long handles to hold over a fire. I haven’t used it yet, but can’t wait to try it.
I have been to a couple of chestnut festivals in the mountain villages where there are all sorts of inventive devices to roast them. It is great fun. I’ll be back there this autumn for more.
I saw some chestnuts at our local markets. I will try them your way.
Deb, I’d love to roast chestnuts over an open fire a la the Christmas carol, but it’s not really workable. This is quite a nice alternative! xx
I have never been brave enough to roast chestnuts as the stories of these nuts being problematic are legendary. And those 4 duds – it’s a bit like cooking mussels – there’s always a few that won’t co-operate. Great result Celia. What did you do with them and how did you enjoy them? I’d say these are perfect for a Christmas in July xx
Charlie, try now! I’ve been trying for years and never been able to make it work before! I ended up eating half of them and using the other half in a soy sauce chicken and chestnut rice (I gave a description of the recipe in my reply to Amanda above). I’ve never done Christmas in July, but it always sounds like fun.. :)
There is a microwave alternative too. If you have a microwave Celia!
Roz, I have a microwave, but I have microwaved more chestnuts that I can count and never managed to get them to peel easily. What’s your secret? :)
i grew up on chestnuts celia..my parents would drive every winter to a place they knew in the adelaide hills and buy them fresh..we would then cook them on the coals of an open fire..and in greece they were everywhere..little braziers were set up on street corners, even in the suburbs, where the chestnuts were roasted on the glowing embers and a cone of hot chestnuts could be bought for a few drachmas..and up north where i lived we boiled them because we had no oven..
in recent times though i’ve been buying them a lot less because i’ve found them inconsistent with regards to ease of peeling..i’ve never pre boiled them though so will try your method..your pile of peeled chestnuts looks so good i might have to get some for the weekend..x
Jane, I first tried them when I was sixteen in Lucerne just before Christmas – it was snowing, and they were sold in a paper cone as you say, and the memory is so strong I can still taste them. I’ve been trying to replicate it ever since. These aren’t the same – the ones I had back then were roasted over coals – but they’re nice nonetheless.. :)
I once made marron glaces and all I can say is that once is enough, it’s quite a production!! :P
Yep, I remember. :D
Hehe ‘in a nutshell’! I cannot hear the word chestnut without adding… roasting by an open fire. It’s one of my favourite Christmas carols.
Yuletide carols being sung by a choooir… ;-)
Brilliant tip Celia! I’ve been cutting the chestnut skins the wrong way! Will definitely try this next time we cook a batch of chestnuts, agree we can do without the burnt fingers & crack sores under the fingernails & the taste of furry chestnut skins. Boiling them first is a great idea as you end up with lovely moist nuts…. Moya :)
Moya, we all have! I’m surprised how well this worked – like I said, I think it’s a combination of both the method and the easy-peel chestnuts. Hope it works for you! :)
The chestnuts sound great but it’s the soy sauce chicken and chestnut rice which tempts me. The flavour and texture combinations would.. will be amazing.
ED, I’m a little hooked on chestnuts in savoury dishes, and combining them with soy, chicken and rice always reminds me of my grandmother, who used to make a sticky rice dumpling with chestnuts in it. I’m sure she never roasted them first, but this is the first time I’ve found a way to get the little buggers out of their skins cleanly, so it will have to do! :)
I don’t think I have ever had roasted chestnuts and I’ve never seen them in the supermarket here. I wonder where I would get them?
~S.
Sorcha, they’re in season now, and available at our local fruit shops. You might even find them in Woolies or Coles…
Celia, that is the same video I watched but because I wanted to use my chestnut pan, I deviated from the instructions(: Next year, I will do it this way as mine didn’t taste that good. My chestnut pan looks a lot like your chapatti pan so maybe it will be relegated to flat breads.
Glenda, I’ve tried roasting chestnuts in a pan before and they were a bit of a disaster – the skins stuck on as soon as the nut cooled. I think it really needs hot coals or a blazing wood fire to work well…
Okay, who read the title of this post and didn’t sing just a little bit?
I love chestnuts. Chicken and chestnut soup is one of my very favourites but I’ve always bought them all peeled. I will follow the wonderful Chef John’s instructions.
Maureen, I’ve never tried chestnut and chicken soup, do you have a recipe on your blog? Thanks. I thought Chef John was pretty wonderful too.. :)
Oh fabulous Celia. I absolutely love chestnuts and I’m just about to go grocery shopping so I’ll get some and give it a go. I’ve always been put off by the hit and miss peeling process before. That’s so cooool Miss Celia:)
Jan, thanks love, I thought so too! First time it’s worked for me, and I’ve been trying for donkey’s years to get it right! :)
Mystery solved! I love chestnuts but have never been able to cook them proper. It’s summer here, but now I am ready for winter.
Hope it works for you, Maz! :)
Nice Celia, a great winter reminder for us all. One of the winter treats of living in Melbourne was having someone selling roasted chestnuts on every city block – a warming and comforting aroma and treat on occasions amidst a chilly commute through a late peak hour.
Isn’t that interesting, Craig! We’ve never had that here, I wonder why?
Genius! I’ve also suffered the problems you describe, so come autumn and chestnut picking time I’m going to try this method – the steaming bit makes lots of sense, and I’ve always cut them at the flat end, so maybe that’s also where I was going wrong… Hope you have a super weekend Celia :)
Claire, I hope it works for you! I’m madly roasting chestnuts and freezing them for cooking with later…
Delicious! I think you need good gloves to peel chestnuts, or maybe the skin on my fingers is just thin nowadays! I have some easy peel ones that I want to cook. Like you, I didn’t do anything fabulous other than roast and eat them!
Lizzy, that used to be the case – I used to have to peel them scalding hot, as the skins would stick on like glue once they cooled. That’s the not case with this method. It really was painless..
I love chestnuts! Since it is summer here, I might make some chestnut ice cream with the puree in the cabinet soon.
Oooh, I have a few tins of chestnut puree – I’ll be looking out for your recipe, Pamela! :)
That’s amazing – I avoid chestnuts because of the peeling – I tried it once and it was such a pain I swore never again (and that was 20 years ago) but you have made me think maybe I could try again
Johanna, I was the same! So it was such a treat to find both chestnuts and a method that worked!
This post just reminded me about a bag of chestnut flour that I need to use up. I just don’t know what to do with it! Any suggestions?
Oh yes! :) We make chestnut bread and chestnut brownies:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/02/16/gluten-free-chestnut-brownies/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/11/13/sourdough-chestnut-loaves/
So often we just need to know the best technique for something.. just like in this instance. It will be so much easier knowing his technique! I’ll remember this at Christmas:)
Smidge, that is just so true. I’ve tried for ages, and this is the first time I’ve managed to make it work. Bless Chef John! :)
I love chestnuts but especially roasted… These are amazing photographs. Thank you dear Celia, love, nia
Thanks Nia! :)
Looks like a little platter of brains… I’d love to try chestnuts but I’ve never ever seen them in any store close to me :(
It’s one of those things – I don’t remember seeing them in Sydney until a few years ago, and now they’re everywhere!