How to Open a Coconut Without Tools

Coconuts are not the easiest nuts to crack.

Although you can purchase pre-shredded and packaged coconut from the grocery store for use in your cooking and baking needs, there may come a time when you have to work with a whole, unopened coconut. To easily open a coconut, you need tools such as a meat cleaver or a hammer. However, if you don't have those types of tools at your disposal, opening a coconut is a lot harder -- but not impossible. You'll need a concrete surface or a sharp, heavy rock along with a little elbow grease, but you'll be able to successfully open a coconut without using tools. Does this Spark an idea?

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Plastic bag
Concrete surface

Instructions

Concrete Method
- 1
  
  Place the coconut in a plastic bag and secure the ends.
- 2
  
  Take the coconut in the plastic bag outside to a concrete surface.
- 3
  
  Hit the coconut against the concrete as hard as you can, over and over again until it breaks apart in several pieces.
- 4
  
  Take the bag inside and open over a bowl if you want to save the juices inside the coconut.
Rock Method
- 5
  
  Locate the seam that runs between the holes or "eyes" and all the way around the coconut.
- 6
  
  Line up the seam over a heavy, sharp rock.
- 7
  
  Slam the coconut hard against the rock, rotating and repeating until it splits open.