Fellow Southerners on Boiled Peanuts: What's your favorite recipe?

Scagmo

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18. . took some lessons 30 years ago but never finished
Since this subject came up on another thread, I thought it would be good to educate the rest of the country on this southern delicacy.

Boiled peanuts are a traditional snack in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. They are an acquired taste, but they are totally addictive. From May through November, all over the south, you will see roadside stands - ranging from woodsheds to shiny trailers - offering fresh boiled peanuts.

Sometimes they are hard to open with your fingers, and you must resort to using your teeth, but according to most people, they are worth the trouble. A little messy too, given that the shells absorb some of the water which can squirt out at you when you bite into them to get the nut out.

We Southerners will tell you boiled peanuts should always be accompanied by a beer, sweet tea, or a soft drink. Traditionally they are eaten outside where it doesn't matter if wet shells are tossed or spit on the ground.

Boiled peanuts are green or raw nuts that are boiled in salty water for hours outdoors over a fire. The shells turn soggy, and the peanuts take on a fresh, legume flavor. A green peanut is not green in color, just freshly harvested. It takes ninety to a hundred days to grow peanuts for boiling, and they are available only during May through November throughout the southern states. One of the drawbacks of boiled peanuts is that they have a very short shelf life unless refrigerated or frozen. If you leave them out on the kitchen counter for 3 to 4 days, they become slimy and smelly!

No one knows just why southerners started boiling peanuts or who was the first to boil them. However, it is believed that boiled peanuts have been a southern institution since at least the Civil War (1861-1865), when Union General William T. Sherman (1820-1891) led his troops on their march through Georgia. As a result of General Sherman's campaign in Georgia, the Confederacy was split in two and deprived of much needed supplies.

Contemporary writings are full of complaints of lack of bread and meat. The great concern of the Confederate government was to feed the army. When troops of the Confederacy were without food, peanuts were an important nutritional source. Since cooking facilities were scarce, soldiers roasted the peanuts over campfires or boiled them. It seems to be lost in history as to who came up with the idea of adding salt to the peanuts when boiling them. What they were doing by boiling in salt, is an ancient preservation technique. It was discovered that these boiled peanuts would keep and not spoil in their kits for up to seven days. The salt works as a preservative, and the boiling kills impurities and bacteria. This produced a high protein ration that could be carried by the soldier. As salt was also scarce during the Civil War, history doesn't tell us how the confederate soldiers had enough salt to use, unless salt meat, a large part of the army ration, was used somehow.

Confederate soldiers also adopted peanuts as a cheap coffee substitute along with parched rye, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, chicory, and cotton seed . Some history books note that Confederate soldiers from Georgia were known as "goober grabbers."

My favorite recipie:

Ingredients:
4 to 5 pounds green (raw) peanuts in shell*
4 to 6 quarts water
1 cup plain salt per gallon of water
* Only use peanuts that are green (uncured). Not the color green, but fresh raw peanuts which are called green peanuts. The peanuts must not be roasted or already cooked or dried.

Preparation:
Wash unshelled peanuts thoroughly in cold water until water runs clear (removing loose soil and sprouts, stems, weeds, and leaves); then soak in cool, clean water for approximately 30 minutes before cooking.
In a large heavy pot ( old iron cookpot and open fire works best) , place soaked peanuts and cover completely with water. Stir to "settle" the peanuts. Add enough water to cover the peanuts by 2 inches or more.
Add 1 cup of salt per gallon of water used. Other spices or seasonings (such as shrimp or crab boil, Cajun seasoning, chili powder, and other strong spices) may be added at this point, if desired.

Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat and let the peanuts simmer, covered, for approximately 4 hours (may take longer), stirring occasionally, and then taste. Add additional water as needed to keep the peanuts covered.
Taste again in 10 minutes, both for salt and texture. Keep cooking and tasting until the peanuts reach desired texture (when fully cooked, the texture of the peanut should be similar to that of a cooked dry pea or bean). To check whether they are done, pull 1 or 2 peanuts out of the pot and crack them open. The cooked peanut should have a crisp bite and not be soggy when bitten into.

If they are not salty enough, leave them in the salted water and turn off the heat.

NOTE: The cooking time of boiled peanuts varies according to the maturity of the peanuts used and the variety of peanuts. The cooking time for a "freshly pulled" or green peanut is shorter than for a peanut that has been stored for a time. Remove from heat and drain peanuts after cooking or they will absorb salt and become over salted.

Peanuts may be eaten hot or at room temperature, or chilled in the refrigerator and eaten cold, shelling as you eat them. The peanuts may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one (1) week.

Ok my fellow southerners, what is your favorite recipe for cooking boiled peanuts? Let’s educate the rest of the country on what is good eating!

Harold
 
Sho nuff good!

Sho nuff good!

Ham hock?? Naigh, don’t need no ham hock, just some salt.
When I was a kid, me and my half dozen cousins would camp out on the creek and boil humongous quantities of “Penders” in a big iron pot over the camp fire.
We would wash them in the creek, strip them off the vine and fill the pot and cover them with creek water and set the pot directly in the campfire. After about an hour we would get down to some serious munchin'! :cool:
 
Since this subject came up on another thread, I thought it would be good to educate the rest of the country on this southern delicacy.

Harold

Oh thanks man!! I didn't want to bugger that thread any more than I already had.
I'm not sure where I'm going to find green peanuts, but I'm on a mission.
My wife came home last night with roasted peanuts....HOW DID SHE KNOW???!!

Jon
 
Like grits boiled peanuts must be an acquired taste?
 
Like grits boiled peanuts must be an acquired taste?

I agree John...has to be 'acquired'...via force feed from an early age I 'spose.:puke:
Seriously, was born and raised in the south and never liked 'em...even cajun boiled!! Here in NC people go wackers over 'em; I defer.

My recipe:
I like 'boiled' peanuts fried in lard, thank you.

Disclaimer: I'm probably in the minority here and I do NOT discriminate against BP eaters!
 
Last edited:
Boiled Peanuts

Boiled Peanuts

I love boild peanuts! I am from Michigan and never heard of eating boiled peanuts until I came to Florida. At first I had to scrunch my nose with that first bite. Did not know what to do with the shell, eat it or spit it out. I ate some shells and decided I rather like the soft nut better than the shell. But I can suck on the shell husk for a long time until all the taste is gone.

I like the cajun style best. The peanut is soft almost the consistancy of mashed potatos as you chew on them. The south has many subtle habits that identify a southerner and give away a Yankee in an instant.

In the south use hot sause instead of pepper as a seasoning; especially on eggs. Grits, chicken fried steak and fried green tomatoes
 
After reading this thread it brought back fond memories of my mom, she always asked us kids "do ya want some boiled peanuts" almost like a treat (bein poor, it was a treat). She's long gone now but she had a way of cooking them peanuts that no store bought peanut could stand up to.
Just a few other treats we had, ice cold sugar cane, eating oysters on the half shell off of a fire on the beds at low tide. I could go on and on....Thanks for the trip.
 
In the south use hot sause instead of pepper as a seasoning; especially on eggs. Grits, chicken fried steak and fried green tomatoes

I don't even use ketchup, hotsauce is my ketchup.

Hell I thought everybody ate boiled peanuts, man day is gud!
 
Boiled goobers.

Boiled goobers.

Just reading the recipie and other comments made my mouth water. But, forsooth and forsook! There are parts of my digestive tract that do not like nuts of any kind (walnuts are the worst).

You other guys rustle up a mess of them thar berled goobers and tell the rest of us about them.
 
Another convert

Another convert

After reading about you blokes and your boiled peanuts I went for a drive up into peanut country and got myself some boiled salted ones.
I purchased about 5 lb of the things to give them a try.
A very short time later the bags were empty and I loved them.
But, you people did not tell me of the laxative effect of 5 lbs of boiled peanuts.
:boom:

Graeme.
 
Bang went the 5lbs of boiled and processed peanuts!!!
 
5 lb

5 lb

Trez
There is a old song here localy from a guy named J G Jewl about his 5 lb box of welfare cheeze. Seems he could'nt unload that 5 lb UNTILL HIS BABY GAVE HIM A BIG SQUEEZE.
Mike
 
Trez
There is a old song here localy from a guy named J G Jewl about his 5 lb box of welfare cheeze. Seems he could'nt unload that 5 lb UNTILL HIS BABY GAVE HIM A BIG SQUEEZE.
Mike

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Ohhhh, the graphic!.............:help:

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