I learned the hard way too. I harvest them from the ground, let them go fully black before processing, soak in water for a few hours, while in the water use a paint mixing drill attachment to remove the shells (takes a minute or two), dump them, repeat the process again and toss any that float. They’ll look like the pic.
Yeah I used a paint mixer, but a few were still green. Stained my fingernails for months. I remember getting them out of the hard shell was also really difficult but maybe I didn’t let them cure long enough
Yeah.. I don’t mess with them when they’re green.
I let mine dry at least 6 month. They start to split open on their own at the crown. After that.. a pocket knife or screwdriver gets the job done. Can usually pull the meat out whole.