There are two methods known to me to crack macadamia nuts:
- Using a hammer on a hard surface like a brick or timber board, or
- Using a mechanical tool (like TJs Nutcracker).
Both work, but only one method involves you hitting your thumb with a hammer, it’s no surprise which is my favourite method.
Hammer & Brick (The Original Method)
All you need to crack your own macadamia nut is a hammer and a hard surface. As a kid, I used to do it on bricks. You simply put your nut on a hard surface, and while holding the nut between your thumb and index finger you tap it open with a hammer.
Below is a mock-up of what this would have looked like.
Mechanical Nut Cracker
I have been gifted what has to be the worlds easiest macadamia nutcracker, designed and built in my home state of Queensland of all places. TJ’s Nutcrackers make cracking open macadamias no matter how big or small the easiest thing, that even my 5-year-old daughter has zero trouble cracking nuts for everyone.
Watch the below video on how to use this nutcracker.
If I had this sort of macadamia nutcracker when I was a kid when I still had a macadamia tree in my backyard, I would have never known what hitting my thumb felt like.
