Recipe: Boiled Peanuts
Boiled peanuts are a traditional southern snack food found throughout North and South Carolina as well as other states across the south. They're soft and salty, and nothing like a roasted peanut. The best ones can be found at roadside stands, where they've been bubbling away for hours in huge stockpots. This is our version for making them at home.
*Raw peanuts are air dried to remove moisture so they can be stored, but they are not cooked. Raw peanuts can be found at markets near regions that grow peanuts, or they can be ordered online. If you live in a peanut-growing region, look for the fresh green peanuts usually available around harvest time. Green peanuts are highly perishable and need to be cooked within a couple of weeks of harvest. Do not use already roasted peanuts for this recipe; they just won’t turn out the same.
Place peanuts in a colander and rinse them well. Add peanuts to a stock pot and fill pot with water until peanuts float about 2 inches from the top. Stir in salt and choice of seasoning and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours for raw peanuts or 2 to 4 hours for green peanuts. Stir peanuts and check the water level every hour or so; it’s okay if the water reduces some, but you want the peanuts to be swimming in water the whole time they’re cooking. Eventually most of the peanuts should sink down into the broth. The peanuts are ready when the peanut shells are soft and open easily; the peanuts inside should be very soft but not mushy. Serve peanuts warm from the pot, or store them in their broth in a sealed container in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for a week or so.
Serve warm or cold as a picnic or backyard barbecue snack.