1. Rinse the chestnuts in a colander with cold running tap water.  

2. Score the chestnuts with a small knife. Scoring the chestnuts allows the steam to escape during the roasting process so they don’t explode. You score a chestnut by cutting a small X or a straight line horizontally across in the center and halfway down from the top of the chestnut on the rounded side.

3. Roast the chestnuts.

How to roast chestnuts on on open fire- If you have a perforated chestnut roasting pan, hold the pan directly over the fire for 5 minutes or so. An open fire such as a fireplace roasts the chestnuts very quickly. The flames come in direct contact with the chestnuts making them brown and toasty. You can achieve the same kind of roast by putting a perforated pan on a fire or gas grill. Just use one of those pans meant for grilling vegetables over the flames. They’re not officially for roasting chestnuts, but they’ll work just fine.

How to roast chestnuts in an air fryer- Set your air fryer to 400 degrees and roast for 8-10 minutes. 

How to roast chestnuts in an oven- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread out the chestnuts on a baking sheet into a single layer. Roast for 25-35minutes. 

How to roast chestnuts on the stovetop- Roast the chestnuts on the stovetop for 15-25 minutes over a medium high heat in a covered skillet. Stainless steel or cast iron will work. Do not use teflon.

4. After you roast the chestnuts, wrap them up for a few minutes in a dish towel. They’ll steam a bit. Give the towel a light squeeze and roll it around to help loosen up the shells.  Immediately afterward, open up the towel and serve warm.