Hickory Nuts

danofarming · Nov 21, 2013

Any one ever crack Hickory Nuts? I picked some up today and have never cracked and picked them before. Any suggestions?

macec3(TX) · Nov 21, 2013

Hard surface and a hammer.

HillsofTn · Nov 21, 2013

Avoid the pignut hickories - they are generally bitter. Shagbark hickories are the best for size and flavor.

Dave in GA · Nov 21, 2013

My mother used to spend winters in Michigan cracking open hickory nuts for the meat, and she made the best hickory nut cookies with them. She"d let the hulls dry and fall off, then she"d put them in the vise, one at a time, cracking them into pieces that way. Then she had metal picks and picked the meat out.

She"d only use Shagbark hickory nuts. Best flavor.

Zachary Hoyt · Nov 21, 2013

All we have here on the place are bitternut hickory, which we have not tried to eat. I would like to try shagbark hickory nuts sometime if I could find them locally.
Zach

Bill in IL · Nov 21, 2013

Crack them in a vise you will have much better control than a hammer. Dad cracks lots of walnuts and says to let the nuts dry then crack them and let them dry again. The meat will shrink and come out easier.

1970-1655 · Nov 21, 2013

Let the squirrels have them. Then have the squirrels for supper. Easier that way.

Growing up, we had lots of shagbarks. Dad showed us how to hold them with pliers and use a hammer to crack them. With 3 boys doing this, it was quicker than 1 vice. And it gave us boys something to do with a hammer that was beneficial. They are good eating.

RayP(MI) · Nov 21, 2013

Clamp 'em in a vice grip. Set so jaws just close enough to crack nut - not crush it.

Frank 41 · Nov 21, 2013

My dad used an anvil and hammer, then pick out with pick which mom did most of that. We had a lot of the shag bark trees as you all call them in our timber. There was a church, Rucker Chapel, that my land lady got her's from. Had to beat the squirrels.

I got a nut cracker from Howard Kuhn, Arthur, IL that worked fair, better for pecans.

My grand mother made the best white cake with hickory nuts and caramel icing. Yum!!

Bill(Wis) · Nov 21, 2013

I have between 45 & 50 old shagbark hickory trees out in the open that I've allowed to remain where they are because that's what my dad would have wanted. Here's the way he did it. Park a chopper wagon under tree. Shake tree limbs with 16 foot long fish spear. Nuts will fall (if squirrels haven't already got them). When nuts fall that far onto hard planks the shucks come off pretty well. Store hickory nuts in burlap bags. In Jan-Feb start bringing them into kitchen. 6" section of railroad track and a small ballpeen hammer with a "jeweler's touch" and they break open. Tools resembling dental tools will pick the meats out. All this being done while talking to my mother about family, friends, politics, news, cows, etc. Finally, the meats are placed in a nut chopper and finely chopped and then used to dust cake frosting, cookies, whatever. This is not to be taken up by impatient, faint of heart people. I doubt that very few, if any, can do it anymore. As for me, I leave them to the squirrels. (;>))

CGID · Nov 21, 2013

I think they are the best tasting nuts there are and they are worth all the work to open them. A bench vise is the way to go. Two people working for two hours can open enough of them for a pie. Use a pecan pie receipe and change the pecans for hickorys. The first time we made a pie, the whole table was laughing about all the work. Then we all took a bite and the table went quiet. It was that good.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 21, 2013

There is a big difference in the taste as well as the way they crack. We had a lot of shag bark tree's when I was a kid. We had one tree that was especially good which we harvested the most from. They were about the size of a nickel and cracked really nice and easy with the majority coming out as halves and not in all broken up pieces. In the fall when they were ready Dad would get up on a Sunday morning and climb the tree with a long willow pole and knock they down. After church in the afternoon we would pick them up. Put them in a gunny sack for drying. Very tasty, better than most pecans. Was a very enjoyable family outing.

JerryS · Nov 21, 2013

My father-in-law has a cracker that will disintegrate the shell and leave walnut and hickory nut meats almost intact. Sorry I can't tell you just how it works---I haven't seen it in action but once, years ago---but it's very similar to a lever-action pecan cracker, only heavier with more leverage. If I can get a photo of it over Thanksgiving I will. He also has a rotating drum made of expanded metal that he uses to remove the husk from black walnuts.

Agree with Frank that a yellow cake with hickory nuts in the batter is mighty fine eating.

flembo · Nov 22, 2013

My fil's neighbor has a hickory tree not sure what kind but my wife and I brought some home to see if we could plant some on our property.No luck anyone know how to do that i would like to try again.

sms · Nov 22, 2013

First some trees are self pollinating some it takes two to get a viable nut for planting. I"m not sure about hickory offhand. Walnut needs two trees.
Second nuts probably need to winter over-be exposed to the cold of winter before they will germinate. I"m no expert just a couple things that may help.

ohiojim · Nov 22, 2013

most of your nut trees will only take root while laying on top of the ground,..i found this out with buckeyes, I"ve also started butternut this way,...lay them on the ground and step on them to make them ground level and put a cage around them,..i have a couple butternut that took 3 years to take root

Traditional Farmer · Nov 22, 2013

There are several different types of Hickory Trees and as a general rule the ones I've tasted the trees that have the largest nuts also have the best taste.Butternut Hickory Nuts taste similar to Pecans to me.

greygoat · Nov 22, 2013

Hickory and Pecan are the same family
Our Daughter went to college at Lamoni, Iowa,
near the Missouri Border. She bought a bag of
Hickory nuts at a farmers market at Bethany Mo.
they were 1-1/2 inch diameter, 3 times larger
that Wisconsin Hickorys, largest I"ve ever seen,
and real good eating !

CGID · Nov 22, 2013

The larger nuts were probably from a shell bark tree. The shag bark nuts are always the smaller of the two.

rrlund · Nov 22, 2013

That brings back memories. We had two hickory trees in the pastures when I was a kid. We'd go out to get the cows and pick up a pocketful. Then we'd sit there in the barn cracking them with a hammer and eating them while Dad milked. We usually ended up eating little pieces of dust since they were hard to get out in anything but tiny little pieces.

flembo · Nov 23, 2013

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hickory Nuts

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