Black Walnuts? Now what do I do?

[1stepcloser]

Yesterday we found a guy locally who said we can have all the black walnuts we could haul. We showed up and got a couple of bags worth BUT they are not out of their pods yet. I grew up with a huge English Walnut tree that provided great nuts that fell out of their pods so boy was I disappointed. :/ The nuts seem awful small and hard compared to English.
So here is my question:

Can you shell black walnuts successfully? And if so, how do you get them out of their pods? We found TONS that were just rotting which made for easy extraction BUT they were completely infested with worms (yuck) so we left those alone.

Advice? Ideas?

 

[miss_thenorth]

Put them in a sock and beat em with a hammer.

 

[sylvie]

If by pods you mean out of the green or black hulls, I put them in the driveway and drive over them.
Then I wear gloves to pick them out of the crushed broken hulls so my hands don't get stained(again ).
This rarely breaks the nut shell.
I place the nut on a piece of concrete and use a hammer to crack the shell. I think I read on here of another method of cracking them open.

 

[freemotion]

I haven't used the nutmeats because I am allergic to them, but our walnut trees drop nuts all over the driveway and we run over them. The shells don't break but the husks come off!

I husked some green ones by hitting them between two bricks. I used rubber gloves and they still dyed my fingers brown! Remember that walnut husks are a potent dye and any splashes will permanently stain your clothing.

I've been told to crack the shells in a bench vise! But I also read recently that if you stand them on their end and hit them on the point, turn it and hit again, etc, you can get the shell to split and get the meat out in two pieces. Of course, reading about something and doing it are two different things!

 

[okiegirl1]

We have two very large black walnut trees and three smaller ones and can you believe that the squirels took everything. No walnuts, no pecans, nothing.

I need a killer dog!

 

[dacjohns]

Worms get into the husks, not a problem, just ugly looking.

I use a 5 pound sledge hammer for cracking the nuts. I made a small bowl in a piece of wood to hold the nut. It takes finesse and I still haven't found the right touch to not completely smash the nut meat.

 

[Grandma Goldie]

When I was growing up cracking walnuts was a common occurance. We didn't have pecan trees and they were too expensive to buy so if we wanted nuts in something walnuts were our only choice. They were free and we had several walnut trees. If it was a good year some of them would be taken to the local huller and sold. I remember using a ballpene hammer to crack open the nuts. It was a challenge to try and get the meat out in two perfect halves. If you have never ate black walnuts you might want to try some before you go to the trouble of cracking a lot of them. They have a stronger flavor than english walnuts and some people do not care for them.

 

[Okiemommy]

ok so I literally dont have the time to shell black walnuts(and I would doubt someone who has nothing but free time would have time to shell these things cause they are such a pain in the rear)

Are there places that you can take black walnuts to, to have them shelled?

 

[modern_pioneer]

We have two very large black walnut trees and three smaller ones and can you believe that the squirels took everything. No walnuts, no pecans, nothing.

I need a killer dog!

You don't need a killer dog.....

You need a .22 or a 20 gauge and a decent aim....

Squirrel Stew

Ingredients:
1 squirrel, quartered
1 cup diced onion
2 large tomatoes (from your garden) or 1 can of tomatoes
Assorted fresh ,or canned veggies

Preparation:
Sprinkle seasoned salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (optional) liberally on the meat. Pour some cooking oil into a large pot (dutch oven). Saut the meat with the onions until well browned. Drain the excess oil, add about 2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Cut up the tomatoes and add. If you use canned tomatoes add them now. Turn down the heat, and let slow cook for at least an hour. Important: older squirrels may require cooking longer than an hour. Check periodically for tenderness. If you don't you will have a hard time chewing the meat. After the meat is tender, add the veggies, carrots, potatoes, banana pepper, what ever you like. Cook until the veggies are done.

Waste not, want not....

 

[Grandma Goldie]

ok so I literally dont have the time to shell black walnuts(and I would doubt someone who has nothing but free time would have time to shell these things cause they are such a pain in the rear)

Are there places that you can take black walnuts to, to have them shelled?

I have never heard of a place that you could take them for someone to shell for you. We always shelled ours in the winter when you couldn't do much outside.