How to : How to Open a Coconut with a Hammer, Oven, or Microwave

Wrap the mature coconut in a kitchen towel. Place the coconut in the center of the towel, and gather the corners of the towel together to form a pouch. This will keep coconut bits from flying when you go to smash it with a hammer.^[5]

Use a hammer or mallet to firmly strike all around the coconut. Place the wrapped coconut on a solid surface and hold it in place with one hand. Then, minding your fingers, strike the coconut’s center with a hammer or mallet. Turn the wrapped coconut slightly, and strike the center again. Use as much force as you can safely apply, and repeat until the coconut breaks apart beneath the towel.^[6]

Alternatively, strike the coconut against a concrete surface. If you don’t have a hammer or mallet, you can use a solid surface like a porch or possibly a concrete countertop. Try to strike the coconut’s equator against the corner of this surface, using it as a makeshift wedge. Repeatedly strike the coconut all around its equator until the coconut breaks apart.^[7]

Use a knife to separate the meat from the shell. Remove the coconut pieces from the towel. Take each piece, and wedge a knife between the shell and the white meat of the coconut to carefully separate the two. Then, use the knife (or a vegetable peeler) or remove the fibrous layer that might still be clinging to the outside of the meat.^[8]

Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and bake the coconut for 15-20 minutes. Place the mature coconut on a baking sheet, and monitor it as it bakes (you only want to bake the coconut for as long as it takes to form a crack—baking it for much longer may burn it). After 15 minutes, check for cracks in the coconut. If no cracks have formed, give it another 5 minutes in the oven, or until the coconut has developed fault lines.^[9]

Alternatively, microwave the coconut on high for 3 minutes. This method is handy when you’re pressed for time, or don’t want to fuss around with an oven. The coconut may not crack, and you may need to exert more force to open it later, but the shell will become weaker and generally easier to penetrate.^[10]

Remove the coconut and wrap it in a towel to cool. Use oven mitts to retrieve the coconut from the oven or microwave, and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes while wrapped in a towel. Doing this ensures you don’t have hot coconut bits flying everywhere when you go to smash it in the next step.^[11]

Whack the wrapped coconut with a hammer, or bash it against a hard surface. With the coconut still wrapped in the towel, use a hammer or a mallet to repeatedly and forcefully whack the coconut. Turn the coconut as you hammer it, in order to strike it from multiple angles. Hammer it until you feel it break open beneath the towel.^[12]

Separate the coconut meat from the shell with a knife. Take each coconut fragment and slip a knife between the shell and the white meat of the coconut to separate the two. Then, use the knife to remove the fibrous layer that might still be clinging to the outside of the meat, in a similar manner to how you’d peel an apple..^[13]

Use a knife to shave off the tender white casing. Position your young coconut on a cutting board, and use a sharp cleaver or a sturdy chef’s knife to slice off the outer casing. Carve at an angle, as if you were removing the skin from an apple, until you expose the hard inner shell. Work to expose as much of the shell as possible.^[14]

Identify the softest eye, and bore a hole through it to drain the coconut water. Though the eyes will be covered by the white casing, as you shave off the casing, you’ll find 3 circular white spots arranged in a triangle. These are the eyes of the coconut. Press the point of your knife into each, until you find the one that gives way the most easily. Use your knife to bore a hole into the inside of the coconut, then invert the coconut over a glass to drain.^[15]