Hickory nuts

[denise_ky]

Hi All,
I spent part of the day in my woods and ended up gathering quite a few hickory nuts. I found some were fairly large--almost an inch wide after taking them out of the outer shell. So I have a few questions: Do deer eat hickory nuts? My guess is they are too hard for them to chew on.
some of the nuts feel too "fresh" or "green." Do I need to let them "cure" a bit before taking them out of the shell? i have them in a basket by the heat register in my house. I did crack one open and tasted it(yum!) but it seemed to need more drying time.
I plan on making a hickory nut pie for Thanksgiving. It will take me that long to get the meat out of the nuts!
Regards and thanks,
Denise

[clintonbemrose]

Many people feel that once the hull has droped off the nut that it is ready to eat but my preferance is to let them air dry an additional 2 months. This seems to bring the flavor to its peak.

I plan on making a hickory nut pie for Thanksgiving. It will take me that long to get the meat out of the nuts!
Regards and thanks,
Denise

The pie sounds intreaging. Could you please send me the recipe or post it here for all to see? Thanks!
Clint
quintb@cablespeed.com


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[denise_ky]

Clint,
When I find my recipe I'll be sure to post it.
Denise

[Dave W]

Greetings . . .

Would a recipe for "pecan" pie work?

I have recipes for Hickory Nut Cake, Hickory Nut Filling (spread between cake layers), Hickory Nut Fudge and Black Walnut Pie.

I will E-mail if you are interested.

Dave W

[denise_ky]

Clinton,
Found my recipe. Basically, it is just a pecan pie recipe, but I'm going to add a bit of brandy to the mix just to give the pie a bit more interest. As much trouble as these nuts will be to crack open and get the meat out--well, this will probably be a once a year pie.

Dave,
I would like the fudge and black walnut pie recipe , please.
Regards,
Denise

[Andy]

I don't believe deer eat hickory nuts but I have found them in wild turkey craws and gizzards. I think they use them for grit more than anything. Hickory nuts are better from a shagbark than from "pig" hickories. look for shaggy bark and thick husks, not paper thin husks.

[clintonbemrose]

Thanks for the recipie for Hickory pie. The alchol sounds good for it.
I think I'll make 2 for Thanksgiving as I am to bring the deserts this year.

Clint


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[wayacoyote]

Hi, One way we get a lot of meat out of hickories is to literally cruch everything up good, shells and all. Then boil the results in water. The meats will float, the shells will sink. The meats can be dried and used in breads and other recipes. The nuts and water can be used to "die" leathers or basketry materials (such as splints or vines).
Waya

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"Bees. Be Still."

[denise_ky]

Waya,
Thanks for that info. How exactly do you crush them and then dry them out? I've been dreading getting the hammer out and picking at them. By the way, I've found some worms in the bottom of my basket of hickories. What are these and did they come out of the nut or are they trying to get in? I've found some nuts with holes in them so I'm assuming the worms came out , since when I gathered them the holes were not in them.
Denise

[beekeeper28]

I have had the cake it is good. This talk is making me hungry......can't wait till the holidays. In addition to traditional turkey, we often have a selection of fresh game meat smoked to perfection. It is common for our thanskgiving to last for a day or two with different family members stopping by at different times. People eat as they are hungry until the food runs out. It is great.

[BEEn Stung]

You must have different hickorys then we do in MN. I harvested some a while back and they are NOT edible. I guess they won't kill you but the taste is very strong.


WAYA; That idea about cooking the meat out. I am going to try it on our local wallnuts. They are "hammer" hard and very tough to get the meat out. They taste very good. When I say local wallnuts, I mean trees that have been planted. Wallnuts are not local here by mother nature.

Put som whiped cream on top and eat a piece of that hickory pie for me. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/biggrin.gif