Have heard of these -- and that they are popular in the South. What's the story?

I don't like 'em at all! Roasted for me thanks.


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JTEX, that's the word I got from a pal whose brother in Atlanta sent him a can to try.

Here in SC they are an institution. Canned boiled peanuts bear no resemblance to the real thing. They use the wrong variety. They suck when hot and are too soft. You have to boil from raw yourself. They are best served cold with copious quantities of a certain ice cold malt beverage.

Start with mature, raw Spanish peanuts in-the-shell. About 2 quarts. Rinse and clean. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a 6 qt pot. Add 1/2 cup of sea salt. Then add peanuts. Cover and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp. Drain, rinse, and chill in fridge. This should yield an al dente peanut when de-hulled.

You can spice them up with the addition of hot raw pepper slices of your choice to the boiling water or spike the salt with Cajun seasoning. Old Bay is great too!

Bobster, thanks for that clarification. I will see if I can find some Spanish or Valencias in the shell.

Bobster's recipie will get you there but I add water until peanuts are floating and well covered. I would use more salt. Around a cup and a half. I would also simmer longer around two hours. Leave them in the water until they cool and taste one ever so often. The salty water will be drawn into the shell and they can get too salty. Some leave them in seasoned water for several hours. Crab boil is a good seasoning to add for a different flavor.

I first experienced a bag of peanuts, as the locals called them, while in grad school in Gainesville, FL. They were not what I was expecting and I never got to where I liked the texture at. Snot balls.

I would get raw peanuts from the agronomy unit and roast them in the muffle furnace at night. They were more my style!

Tom

South GA is peanut country. The secret is you MUST use green mature peanuts fresh from the field. Easy way is put them in a crock pot with salt( amount is a matter of personal preference)for 3-4 hours. You can add other seasonings but not necessary. My family has owned a peanut mill buying direct from the farmers for 65 years and the harvest started this week. The canned peanuts leave a lot to be desired. Peanut variety doesn't matter much( Spanish, runners, Jumbos, etc) but I prefer runners. Served cold with beer makes a Sat. college football game a Southern tradition. If you can't get them fresh from the field, you make do with a poor substitute. If they are mushy, they are seriously over cooked.

Yes green peanuts for sure.

The only thing peanuts should be soaked in is a bottle of Big Red. Boiled peanuts are about as appetizing as water logged cardboard.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
The only thing peanuts should be soaked in is a bottle of Big Red. Boiled peanuts are about as appetizing as water logged cardboard.

Not hardly...

For once, I'm in complete agreement with JTex and Mjines, boiled peanuts, which I've tried several times all over the Eastern seaboard are just plain nasty. Yuck!

I suppose people can acquire a taste for anything with long exposure, but I rank boiled peanuts right below chicken feet.

The three of us agreeing on the same thing is kinda miraculous ain't it!



I like it!

Well, to each his own. Boiled peanuts are like any other food-taste depends on preparation. Soft mushy peanuts are flat over-cooked and I agree are nasty. Properly cooked P-nuts are like properly cooked pasta. Al-dente is what you seek. Choose mature P-nuts because they have a thin hull, firmer nuts and less mushy tissue. Test the nuts as they cook until they reach the right texture.

So, they are slightly less slimy balls of mush?

Not to worry, you can have all of my share.

No boiled peanuts for me. Acquired taste?
Single malts are an acquired tasted; boiled peanuts, well......

To be fair, I'm sure it is what you grew up being fed.

For instance, most Yankees and some Southerners don't like grits. I really like them with butter and salt, so to each his own.

Many years ago, my Dad had a crew building a warehouse in NY. Went to a diner for breakfast and, of course, there were no grits with the eggs, etc. They asked about getting some grits and no one in the diner, including the cook, knew what they were talking about.

My grand parents made polenta which you can get in NY for dinner.

quote:

Originally posted by J_Zola:
My grand parents made polenta which you can get in NY for dinner.

They are similar and I like both of them, but they are not the same. They are ground from different types of corn.