how do i crack my coconut?

[estobi1]

This might sound silly but i have never bought a coconut before! do i drill a hole first to let the juice out and then crack it?does it need a hammer or will a sharp knife do it? why did i do this?!

don't whack it on the kitchen worktop - I tried it and we have a huge dent in it .

On the odd occasion we bought a coconut dad drilled a hole in and drained the juice out then wrapped it in a tea-towel and wanged feck out of it with a hammer. V therapeutic.

Or - drill hole. Drain some juice out. Pour in v generous measure of bacardi/dark rum. Squeeze of lime and small measure of cola. Pop a straw in.

Refresh with juice drained earlier

Forget about rest of coconut

terrible english - we have a huge dent in the worktop, not the coconut.

Only way I have ever done it is to drill a few holes round the middle.

Drain the juice out first. The 'eyes' at the top are quite soft and pretty easy to pierce. If you then bake the coconut for about 10 minutes it makes it easier to crack-- though you'll still need a hammer/rolling pin/brick etc. Wrap it up in a tea towel first to keep all the bits from flying everywhere. Enjoy!

Actually scratch all of that, I'd go with Iklboo's advice

Good idea ikbloo I am with you all the way - my 3 year old might not be but what the hell!!

You do need to drill 2 holes, one for the air to get in and one for the juice to get out. It's easiest to do this through 2 of the 3 eyes at the top as mbitg says. I've used a corkscrew to drill into them before. After that it's a sledgehammer job - or Iklboos idea sounds good.

You do need to drill 2 holes, one for the air to get in and one for the juice to get out. It's easiest to do this through 2 of the 3 eyes at the top as mbitg says. I've used a corkscrew to drill into them before. After that it's a sledgehammer job - or Iklboos idea sounds good.

put it in the oven for 10 mins about 200c then put in teatowel and bash with hammer or on floor! -

Drop it from an upstairs window onto the patio! Then give it a rinse. Always worked for me

Always took mine outside and dropped from a reasonable height on to the concrete. Once a crack developed, I let the water drain and then bashed them some more. A nice rince and all done!

Below is the Delia Smith method - much as other posters suggested but with a plastic bag:

How to crack a coconut

1. Dealing with a fresh coconut (which does not, I admit, look user-friendly) is not as difficult as it seems. First push a skewer into the three holes in the top of the coconut and drain out the milk and reserve it if the recipe needs it. Then place the coconut in a polythene bag and sit it on a hard surface ? a stone floor or an outside paving stone.

1. Then give it a hefty whack with a hammer ? it won't be that difficult to break.

1. Now remove the pieces from the bag and, using a cloth to protect your hands, prise the tip of a kitchen knife between the nut and the shell. You should find you can force the whole piece out in one go. Sometimes if the coconut is quite dry it will come away very easily.

1. Now discard the shell and take off the inner skin using a potato peeler or a sharp knife. Then rinse under a running tap to ensure the pieces are completely clean.

There should be 3 dark circles on one end. Use a hammer to bang a steel into the holes. Voila!