Cracking the Case of the Coconut

The Olympic Games are in process and we really enjoy watching them on TV every night.  We use our Digital Video Recorder to record the nightly four hour program, and then we usually will start watching the recorded portion about an hour after it starts.  This allows us to skip the commercials and the silly time wasting segments the network inserts.  Why do we need to watch ice skaters when they have finished skating and waiting for their scores for five minutes? 

One of the problems is that we often fast forward so much of the programming and catch-up our recorded viewing with real-time, so we are forced to watch every single competitor in every single event; snore!


To overcome this problem, we will watch another program that we recorded at an earlier time while the Olympics slowly keep recording.  One of the programs we recently watched was an Alton Brown Good Eats where he discussed how to milk and open a coconut.  We thought that was interesting, so earlier this week while we were at the store, we bought a coconut to enjoy.


Today was the day that we cracked the case!  We took the coconut for a quick trip to the garage workbench.  There I used my cordless drill with a 3/8 inch drill bit to drill holes into two of the eyes and down into the center of the coconut.  Using the two holes, we drained the coconut of the liquid (milk) and then strained the liquid to remove the drilling residue.

The filtered milk didn’t last long as we quickly drank it right from the bowl. 

Next we heated the Electrolux oven to 375 degrees.  Once the oven was at temperature, I put the coconut on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven to bake for fifteen minutes.  The shell is supposed to crack making it easier to remove the meat.

After 15 minutes I checked the coconut, no cracks.  Hmmm, OK back into the oven for another 7 minutes.  This time when I checked, there is a crack running around the shell of the coconut.  I removed the coconut from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, then took the coconut back to the garage (my wife won’t let me hammer on our new countertops) for a few whacks with my trusty hammer to crack the shell the rest of the way.

Alton calls for an oyster knife to remove the meat from the shell.  I don’t have an oyster knife and after the other day, I really didn’t want to use a knife that would slip and send me after another Band-Aid.  I found that a heavy duty spoon works very well.  I slid the spoon between the shell and the meat and just popped the meat out.

Next I have to remove the thin brown husk that covers the outside of the meat.  Thanks to Alton for the information on this, I just used a vegetable peeler and quickly removed all of the husk.  A quick rinse in cold water and we have a nice quantity of coconut meat ready to use.  Or, in our case start eating with a little sugar.

We do have a little left that is in the refrigerator, and I have to find a recipe to use it.  Hmmm, maybe cake!