Boiled Peanuts are one of the things I had never heard of when I moved to the South. Why would you boil a peanut, I would ask. While down in Louisiana visiting family, I saw that boiled peanuts were everywhere! Like, at every gas station. So, I tried one. And I hated it. I mean, they're soft. Aren't peanuts supposed to be hard?
OK, fast forward to years later when I was out on the lake with my friends. There was a boat on the lake that was a concession stand, basically. But onboard they sold boiled peanuts, and everyone was buying them. What is wrong with these people, I silently wondered. Ok I'll try one. You know what? It wasn't that bad. So eventually I started to even like them. They are soft, but they are salty and sometimes spicy and pretty darn good.
Nowadays I just make them myself. I don't hang out at the lake like I once did but that doesn't mean that I can't have some boiled peanuts. They are somewhat time consuming so plan ahead. The good news is that I've also made these in a crock pot so at least you've got options. The cooking time will be the same in the crock pot if you cook it on high. Just test them every so often for the saltiness you like and or spice. The nuts should be soft but not mushy.
I might have had slightly more then 5 pounds, so I added about 1/2 cup more salt and cooked for about 30 minutes longer.
Southern Style Boiled Peanuts
Recipe from All Recipes
Ingredients
- 5 lbs raw, unsalted peanuts in the shell
- 1 cup salt
- 5 tsp cayenne pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- Add the peanuts and all of the remaining ingredients to a large pot. Cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and cover, lower heat and let boil for 3 hours.
- Taste the peanuts and add more salt if desired or cook longer if they are not soft enough for your taste.
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