Hickory Nut Pie

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This week, we only had a short respite from the snow. With another snowfall under our belt, it has been rather frustrating to complete our Fall farming chores. However, there is still much to do inside. So this time, we decided to tackle our Hickory nuts foraged earlier this past September.

We discovered the Hickory Nut when we first arrived on the farm over two years ago now. It is a delicacy somewhat unique to the region as the trees (the Shagbark Hickory) thrive in the small patch of Carolinian forest of the region.

Foraged Hickory Nuts

Having been left to cure for the past couple of months, the husk of the nuts had turned black and it was now time to process them.

The nuts are ready to process.

Husking Hickory nuts is a rather simple process. These things are designed to open up when the nut falls from the trees. They separate along the ridged lines of the husk. If for any reason they prove difficult, a light hammering of the top of the nut splits the husk in four sections.

If necessary, a light hit to the top of the nut releases it from the husk.

With the nuts released from their husk, the next step is to wash them. At this point, we also separate the good nuts from what we suspect are the "bad" ones. Nuts that float typically have very little flesh or have been compromised by insects. With foraged wild nuts, you should not be surprised if that amounts to a large percentage of your harvest.

The nuts are washed and sorted for "floaters".

Cracking of the Hickory nut is perhaps the most difficult part of the process. The nut is very hard and the flesh is actually separated inside the nut with rigid sturdy shell walls. Conventional nutcrackers will not do, so we use a slab of concrete and a heavy hammer.

Cracking the nut is a arduous and difficult process.

Laying the nut on its flat side makes it easier to break, but the result is a mess of broken shell and mashed flesh. The trick is to actually crack it on its narrow side. It makes the nut difficult to hold, but you are much more likely to be able to extract large pieces of nut from the shell.

Shelled Hickory Nuts ready to be enjoyed.

Once shelled, we found it is absolutely critical and necessary to sort through the flesh for any additional little pieces of shell. No matter how small, they are so hard that they could seriously hurt your teeth.

We found that one of the better ways to enjoy Hickory Nuts is in the form of a pie. Since their taste is akin to the Pecan, our pie recipe is based on a traditional Pecan pie.

For two cups of nuts, we use:

• 3/4 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of corn syrup
• 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. of salt
• 3 large eggs

In a pan, we melt our butter and combine the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Over medium heat we dilute the sugar in the butter and bring it to a creamy, syrupy consistency. To this, we then add the corn syrup.

In a separate bowl, we whisk our eggs and then add the corn syrup mixture.

In a prepared pie shell, we place our nuts and then cover with the egg/corn syrup mixture.

The whole thing is baked at 350 deg. F for about 50 minutes or until the filling firms up. As the pie bakes, the filling with rise giving an indication of its readiness. Once cooled, the filling will flatten again and be nice and firm.

The result is a delicious seasonal tart which is wonderful with a dollop of Chantilly cream and a cup of coffee.

Hickory Nut pie...a great seasonal treat.

Elsewhere on the farm, our "tenant" bees were lucky to have been cared for before all this snow arrived. The bee hives have been insulated and we now have our first batch of Ridge Berry honey.

Luckily the bee hives for insulated before our first snow.

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Meanwhile, the family and our customers can finally enjoy our first batch of local honey.

Next Spring, we plan to tackle our own hives and learn the art of beekeeping.

We'll close this week with the return of the Wild Turkeys. Just in time for the American Thanksgiving and the Holiday season, these birds continue to roam our farm. They are beautiful and rather large birds. However they are also quite shy and make it rather diffifult to capture them on film. 

This week, we did manage to get quite close.

Wild Turkeys continue to visit in this Holiday season.