I was told that my method of fire roasting a coconut was wrong. I countered with “I wasn’t given any details!.” Well, I got my details.

Apparently, I am supposed to keep the nut in the husk, cut off the top, drain out the liquid, then roast it whole.

So here’s my second attempt:

1. Take a green coconut, cut off just enough of the end in order to make a small hole in the shell and get the liquid out. Place the emptied nut in the fire, standing with the hole facing up.
   
2. Burn, Baby! Burn! (OK, not “burn” AGAIN…how about “roast”?)Be sure to rotate it, so that it will cook evenly.
3. Once steam starts to escape from the hole steadily, remove from the fire, allow to cool, then remove the husk.
4. Open the nut by finding the three lines that run from the top to the bottom. Using a blunt object (I use the back of a heavy knife or machete), take turns striking each line once, continually rotating the nut. After 4-5 passes, the nut should crack open.

What was revealed is a smooth, creamy nut meat that is similar to the feel of oatmeal in your mouth. The steam of the residual coconut water must steam the insides. It’s a very nice end result. An added bonus is that the nut meat now can easily be removed from the hard outer shell.

Now I’m still not sure if I did it “right” this time, but I know that the end result was mighty fine eating, better than the first attempt….so I roasted a second one…and I’m eating a bit of it right now 🙂

db