How to Roast Chestnuts on a Campfire
"Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" is an iconic lyric, but have you ever wondered how to roast chestnuts on an open fire? I'll show you - it's the perfect winter campfire treat!
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 222kcal
Equipment
- 1 Large Pan
- 1 Chestnut Knife Optional - you can use a paring knife
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chestnuts Buy more than you think you need - some are likely to be rotten.
Instructions
Prepare the Chestnuts
- Get rid of any potentially rotten chestnuts. I do this by placing the chestnuts in a pot of water - the ones that float, I throw away.
- Remove the remaining chestnuts from the water, blot dry if you’re using a regular knife to score them. (Wet = more slippery. Not something you really need to worry about with a chestnut knife, though!)
- Using a paring knife or chestnut knife, cut an X in the top of the rounded side of each chestnuts - see the post for photos and more details on each method.
- If - when cutting into them - you come across any that are molding or smell bad, throw it out. You might not catch every moldy one before roasting, but between the floating ones and anything visibly “off” when cutting, you’ll get the bulk of them.
Boil the Chestnuts (Optional)
- Place the scored chestnuts in a large pot, and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil over your campfire, then strain the chestnuts out as soon as the water starts actually boiling. Alternately, you can try soaking chestnuts in a bowl of hot water for 1 hour or so.
Roast the Chestnuts
- If you don’t already have a fire going for boiling the chestnuts, get a medium fire going now. You can cook on a grate over the fire, or with the pan directly on hot coals - AFTER the fire subsides.
- Spread your prepared chestnuts out in a single layer in your skillet or pan - flat sides down, scored sides up.
- Place over the fire, roast for 10-15 minutes, or until shells are browning, cut edges are curled back, and the nut meat is warm and tender.
- Your roasting time can vary wildly, based on whether you’re cooking them over a grate - as we tend to do - or with the pan directly on the hot coals. Whether or not you boiled them, the type of pan, the size of the chestnuts, etc can all impact the cook time.Go by appearance and texture, just keep an eye on them and stir them every few minutes - you don’t want to let them burn.
- Once they’re ready, remove from the fire, allow to cool for a couple minutes, then serve!
Notes
Roasted Chestnuts are easiest to peel when they’re still warm.
Leftover roasted chestnuts - AFTER being shelled - can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
Nutrition
Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 549mg | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg