Boiled peanuts

[etpm]

I'm not from the South, never lived there and have hardly visited. But there is some Southern cuisine that I like. Or really like.
When I was 7 or 8 there was a girl the same age who lived a few houses away. She had family from the South. One summer her Grandma was visiting and she brought with her some green peanuts. She put them in a pot, boiled them up, and I got to eat some. Shell and all. Till my tummy hurt. Mmmmm.
As an adult living in the Puget Sound region, I looked and looked for green peanuts or boiled peanuts, remembering those delicious peanuts from decades before. I found folks selling them in South Seattle but they were always out whenever I could come by.
So, after hankering for boiled peanuts for nearly 60 years I decided to see if I could get raw green peanuts shipped to me. I wasn't having any luck but did run across all sorts of recipes using dried raw peanuts. And dried raw peanuts are for sale here on Whidbey Island at not just the feed store but also a local hardware store. For squirrels. What makes them so special anyway?
Since squirrels eat the same peanuts as humans, and in fact the peanuts diverted for animal feed are fit for human consumption, I just looked at several brands to see which had the larger peanuts. The hardware store won out. Better pricing too, which surprised me.
So I cooked me up a batch of boiled peanuts. And another. And so on. I have tried various spices. There are a ton of recipes online for making boiled peanuts from dried raw peanuts. What really matters is that I like them. Really like them. So does my son and my wife.
The upshot is that I really like and recommend them. They take several hours to cook. So if you have a day to burn and few friends and a big pot and a crab cooker, AKA a turkey frier, then look online for a recipe that looks good, buy 5 pounds of raw peanuts, plain salt, any spices you want, plenty of cold beer, and cook yourself some boiled peanuts.
I have a big fire ring and a nice large covered area practically next to it. So when it gets cold, but sunny and dry, we will be having folks over for baby back ribs, boiled peanuts, beer, and a big warm fire.
Eric

 

[PuffyC]

I really liked your story but then I thought all peanuts were boiled? Or maybe I’m exposing my southern upbringing. Don’t eat the shells though.

 

[notaz3]

Being on Whidbey you were just asking the wrong people. I knew a few Filipinos who would bring them to work. They got there's at Coupeville farmers market (Tee's Nuts).
I've never cared for the taste but my wife makes them a few times a year.

 

[Bird]

I have been a peanut addict most of my life; keep some peanuts on hand here in the house at all times; very seldom a day goes by that I don't eat peanuts; used to buy raw shelled peanuts by the hundred pound bag and roast them ourselves at home. I've also had a reputation most of my life for being one of those who eats and enjoys anything and everything.

But I have bought boiled peanuts twice to try them, and threw them in the garbage; used to think a peanut could not be destroyed, but I was wrong; don't know how anyone could eat boiled peanuts unless he was starving.

 

[hugo454]

didn't care for them, I do love peanut butter pie and shrimp & grits though!

 

[Doughknob]

Boiled peanuts are GREAT!

 

[rjpotts]

I started eating boiled peanuts many years ago after a trip to South Carolina. Since then I've experimented with many different ways of making them. By far the easiest is to cook them in a crock pot, just give it lot's of time.

I've gotten my raw peanuts at Walmart (Hampton Farms Brand). Also if you're in need of a quick fix Walmart also sells boiled peanuts in a can, not great but better than nothing.

 

[MoKelly]

Maybe I’ve just had improperly prepared boiled peanuts, but to me I’d rather eat them as is v. boiled.

MoKelly

 

[Fuddy1952]

Why don't y'all just just order them?

 

[MoKelly]

Why don't y'all just just order them?View attachment 716914

Ha! Freshly packed, blue ribbon and original!

Sounds yummy!!!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Was given a sample at a Quick-Stop type store in S. Carolina when we visited Myrtle Beach a few years back. Great state; wonderful people, but boiled peanuts are not for me...or grits either. Give some of those wonderful fried oysters; grilled shrimp and baked Red Snapper.

 

[k0ua]

My throat is starting to swell up now by just reading this thread.

 

[stuckmotor]

Around here, it's not unusual at all to find someone sitting in a parking lot with a pickup truck and a peanut boiling apparatus, selling them out of the boiler.
Were the hulls you ate the hulls of immature peanuts? Even boiled, shells of mature peanuts are woody.

 

[stuckmotor]

Was given a sample at a Quick-Stop type store in S. Carolina when we visited Myrtle Beach a few years back. Great state; wonderful people, but boiled peanuts are not for me...or grits either. Give some of those wonderful fried oysters; grilled shrimp and baked Red Snapper.

I prefer to boil my own. Some of the store bought ones are far too salty for my taste.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I prefer roasted peanuts; or better yet, in Sharn Jean's "World's best Peanut Brittle!".

==========================================

Peanut Brittle

1 cup white Karo syrup

1 cup sugar

1 and 1/2 cups raw peanuts

dash of salt

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Combine syrup, sugar, salt and raw peanuts. Pour into electric skillet and cook until it turns caramel color (about 350 degrees).

Turn off heat and add baking soda, stir slightly. Pour onto buttered foil and let it spread by itself.

Cool and break into pieces.
========================================

I sympathize with those of you who live up North, but were raised in the South and Southwest; my daughter lived in Michigan for a couple of years...she said she couldn't find raw peanuts or okra.

 

[sandman2234]

I do like roasted peanuts, can eat them by the bag full going down the road. Kind of helps when you get tired and need to do something to keep awake. The mess in the truck is one reason I refrain most times. As far as boiled, no thanks. I do not like those slimy things! Pretty sure your not supposed to eat the hulls though, or at least everyone I see eats them and tosses the hulls.
I have a nice handmade stainless steel pot made by a late friend. Too big for the stove in the house, but works on a propane burner. I am thinking that I might drag it out and give a try at cooking up some boiled peanuts for my Wife and Daughter, as they are up in Nashville taking a business education class. Might be a good surprise for them to come home and find a pot of boiled peanuts waiting on them. Or I could just drive down the street about 5 miles and get some from the guy who does it all the time. I wonder if he has any roasted ones that I can get for me!!
David from jax

 

[SPYDERLK]

When I was in college someone in our group shared house was boiling peanuts when I came back from my morning classes. At 1st breath I said, "God, who is boiling piss!?" Irony - peenuts.

 

[KennyG]

When I'm in South Carolina, I've had boiled peanuts a few times, in bars and restaurants. After two or three, I can't stand the taste. Maybe I've never had them done right, but I've tried them enough to give up.

I try to be open minded. I used to not care for grits, but once I had shrimp and grits done right, I'm converted.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Peanut shells clean your pipes

 

[Doughknob]

If done right, they are great! Salty, mushy, peanutty. I get them from roadside vendors boiling them every time I travel South. I did not use to like them in my youth. I liken them to beer - they are sort of an acquired taste. Have wet-wipes handy and shell receptacle. Oh, almost forgot - they do lose much of their appeal if cold. Best had hot right out of the boiler!!!!