Cracking And Grating Coconut Recipes

Steps:

• Opening Coconuts: Open the coconuts by flinging them onto a cement or rock surface (this is how the monkeys do it!) Don't worry about losing the liquid, as it's not the coconut milk called for in cooking. Each coconut should break in 3 to 4 pieces. It is also possible to open a coconut by piercing the eyes of the coconut with a screwdriver or ice pick, draining the liquid through the holes and placing the coconut in a 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Wrap the coconut in a towel and hit it with a hammer to loosen the shell and split it into pieces.
• Pry out the white meat and then pare off the dark skin.
• Grating Coconut Meat: To grate the white meat, put the meat through the grating disk of a food processor or use a hand grater. You should get about 7 cups of grated coconut from the two coconuts, which will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
• Reserve 4 cups of the grated coconut for the pie crust and filling.
• Coconut Liquado: To make the coconut milk, combine the remaining 3 to 4 cups of loosely packed grated coconut with the milk (use 3/4 cup of coconut for each 1 cup of milk) in a heavy saucepan. Heat slowly, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and cool. Strain the milk, pressing down on the coconut meat to extract all the liquid. Squeeze all the coconut through a towel to get any last drops. Discard the coconut.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pierce softest eye of coconut with a metal skewer or screwdriver and drain liquid into a bowl to sample (see note, above). Bake coconut in oven 15 minutes.
• With a hammer or back of a heavy cleaver break shell and with point of a strong knife remove flesh, levering it out carefully. Remove brown membrane with a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler. Fresh coconut keeps, chilled, in an airtight container 1 week.
• Grate coconut as needed on small teardrop-shaped holes of a 4-sided grater or finely chop in a food processor. Freshly grated coconut keeps, frozen, in an airtight container 3 months.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use an ice pick or screwdriver to poke holes in the "eyes" of the coconut, and drain milk. Reserve milk for another use. Place coconut in the oven for 15 minutes. Wrap in a cloth towel, and hit with a hammer to crack open. Remove coconut from hard outer shell; discard shell. Use a vegetable peeler to remove thin brown coating from coconut. Grate coconut on the large holes of a box grater to yield 4 cups.
• Combine grated coconut, brown sugar, nutmeg, and water in a medium saucepan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring until sugar has melted and coconut is thoroughly coated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and add butter, stirring until it is melted. Cool to room temperature.
• Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour, and divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece to 1/8 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2-inch-round cutter to cut out disks. Reroll scraps; cut additional disks.
• Make an egg wash by combining egg and cream in a small bowl. Place 1 generous tablespoon coconut filling on each disk. Apply a light coating of egg wash to edges using a pastry brush. Fold into half-moon shapes, and press edges together with the tines of a fork to seal.
• Place patties on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat (a French nonstick baking mat) or parchment paper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.