# Boiled peanuts



## pepperhead212 (Jan 15, 2019)

Does anybody here like boiled peanuts (and does anybody cook them?)?  

I got liking them way back - 60's, early 70's - when my family would travel down to FL to see family in the summer (this is probably when I learned to hate heat!), and we would get them on some of the back roads in SC and GA, plus my GM would cook them for me (at least it seemed like they were for me, since I ate most of them!).  It wasn't until years later that I could find raw peanuts up here, but even then, they weren't quite the same, as I think the ones in boiled  the shells were immature, as well as raw.  Still, the raw ones I get here are OK, and they have almost the same flavor, when cooked until very soft.  I found that cooking in the IP high pressure mode, it took about 40 min to get super soft (45 min. was almost too soft).  And the last one I did in slow cook mode, for 4 1/2 hrs; could have gone a little longer for softness, but the liquid was getting a little low, and it was getting late!   

I don't do them often, but I found some raw ones in the freezer (one of many things I wanted to use up). I have made a number of flavored versions of them - a creole flavored one, a Szechwan version, with the whole spices found in 5 spice powder plus a black cardamom, a Chipotle flavored one, and the latest, a Thai curry, with some coconut milk as much of the liquid.  This may have been my favorite, but maybe only because I was eating it now! lol  I got the idea because I still had the Thai curry paste in the fridge, and hadn't put it back in the freezer.

Anybody else ever cook these, and try any different seasonings? 

Thai peanuts, before boiling:


2019-01-11_10-01-44 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After slow cooking 4 1/2 hrs:


Thai boiled peanuts, after 4 1/2 hrs. in slow cooker mode. by pepperhead212, on Flickr


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## Rascal (Jan 15, 2019)

Heard a lot about these but never tried. So these are store bought out of the shell, then boiled.?  The spices you add permeate the nuts? I think I'm gunna try this. I love peanuts. Love satay sauce. Thanks 

Russ


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## Cheryl J (Jan 15, 2019)

Hi, Dave! 

I'm of no help here.   Just wanted to say I was born and raised in SoCal and had never heard of boiled peanuts until a few years ago, and I think it was on this forum. 

*Great pics,* and descriptions! 

I'll be watching this thread with interest to learn something new.


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## Josie1945 (Jan 15, 2019)

Pepperhead, as a true southner I know about
boiled peanuts. The only thing I have ever seasoned
them with is salt.
      Peanuts are supposed to be boiled un shelled not
shelled with salt. It takes over a hour to cook them.
  To get the salt flavor in them you can let them soak over
night in the salty water you cooked them in. ( it takes a lot of salt)
I had pint jar of them tonight that I canned last year. (Yummy)

Josie


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## larry_stewart (Jan 15, 2019)

Josie1945 said:


> Pepperhead, as a true southner I know about
> boiled peanuts. The only thing I have ever seasoned
> them with is salt.
> Peanuts are supposed to be boiled un shelled not
> ...



Thats the way I've ever heard and/ or tried them.
I head of them, but never having travelled down south, I never tried them until a few years ago when I did a road trip down to Alabama.  We had to pull off the highway to get some gas, and parked in the parking lot of the gas station was a food truck selling Boiled Peanuts.  I had to buy some just to see what it was all about.  I got a bag full of damp peanuts, shells on and salty.
I can't say they were bad, but I didn't really see what the hype was .  Definitely a different taste than roasted peanuts.

Ive never tried it at home, cause I figured ' been there, done that'.  Never really thought to load them up with flavor.


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## GA Home Cook (Jan 15, 2019)

Josie is correct.  IMHO I only would do them in the shell.  I have tried Cajun but my favorite is just salt.  Search for a packing site in South Georgia that will ship raw in the shell.  Someone like Lane in FortValley Georgia.  Although they do Pecans it would be something similar.  It will not be cheap but the quality is worth it.  Try making Red Neck Hummus.  Use boiled peanuts instead of chick peas.  It’s amazingly good.


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## GA Home Cook (Jan 15, 2019)

Also don’t rush the cooking.  Just at a simmer until they are tender.  It will take several hours.


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## msmofet (Jan 15, 2019)

I live in N.J. also. Where do you get raw peanuts? I saw them many many years ago at Corado’s but not since then.


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## pepperhead212 (Jan 15, 2019)

You southerners are right - in shell is the way I remember down there in my youth.  However, I have not found raw, in shell peanuts up here, so all I have is the raw shelled ones, and only find those in the Amish markets and Indian markets.  So, I take what I can...

I like the idea of a redneck hummus.  They are legumes, after all, and I love the flavor of them.  I'll definitely try that.


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## JustJoel (Jan 15, 2019)

GA Home Cook said:


> Josie is correct.  IMHO I only would do them in the shell.  I have tried Cajun but my favorite is just salt.  Search for a packing site in South Georgia that will ship raw in the shell.  Someone like Lane in FortValley Georgia.  Although they do Pecans it would be something similar.  It will not be cheap but the quality is worth it.  Try making Red Neck Hummus.  Use boiled peanuts instead of chick peas.  It’s amazingly good.


Boiled peanut hummus? Wouldn’t that just be peanut butter?


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## Josie1945 (Jan 15, 2019)

JustJoel said:


> Boiled peanut hummus? Wouldn’t that just be peanut butter?



No not at all. 
You have to roast them to make peanut butter.

Josie


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## taxlady (Jan 15, 2019)

JustJoel said:


> Boiled peanut hummus? Wouldn’t that just be peanut butter?


I think it was here on DC that I read you can make hummus with peanut butter instead of tahini.


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## buckytom (Jan 16, 2019)

msmofet said:


> I live in N.J. also. Where do you get raw peanuts? I saw them many many years ago at Corado’s but not since then.



You can get them at Asian and "Farmer's (Hispanic)" markets, but they're not common by us. I buy them for my parrots when I can. You need to go to the HMart in Little Ferry. Or the better one down in Ridgefield. 



Rascal said:


> Heard a lot about these but never tried. So these are store bought out of the shell, then boiled.?  The spices you add permeate the nuts?
> Russ



That seems to be the question.



JustJoel said:


> Boiled peanut hummus? Wouldn’t that just be peanut butter?



There's probably a better word for raw peanut hummus., if the word hummus remains at all.


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## larry_stewart (Jan 16, 2019)

I also see them frequently at the Asian markets.


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## Rascal (Jan 16, 2019)

I'm going to try this in the next week, only because I'm curious. 
Peanuts  are best in satay sauce. I'm also doing that soon.

Russ


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## pepperhead212 (Jan 16, 2019)

I love satay sauce...actually, I love almost anything Thai!  There are many Thai dishes with chopped up peanuts - three of the best known are the satay (along with the peanut butter), pad Thai, and som tum.  In fact, I'm thinking that maybe adding some roasted, chopped up peanuts, or a little peanut butter, to add that flavor to the boiled peanuts, which are a totally different flavor, but also good in this flavor combination.


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## CraigC (Jan 17, 2019)

One of my brothers got the nickname "The Big Steamer" after a pressure cooker exploded on him while doing boiled peanuts for his half-track club one year at the Dade County Youth Fair. Luckily he wasn't injured too badly.


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## Linda0818 (Jan 18, 2019)

I love boiled peanuts. I've always boiled them in the shell, though. I can only find raw peanuts in-shell and there's no way I'm going to stand there and shell a whole bag of them


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## taxlady (Jan 18, 2019)

Linda0818 said:


> I love boiled peanuts. I've always boiled them in the shell, though. I can only find raw peanuts in-shell and there's no way I'm going to stand there and shell a whole bag of them


Don't you have to shell them after they are boiled? Or do the shells fall off or dissolve or something when they are boiled?


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## Linda0818 (Jan 18, 2019)

taxlady said:


> Don't you have to shell them after they are boiled? Or do the shells fall off or dissolve or something when they are boiled?



Nope, they don't fall off or dissolve. Once the peanuts have boiled for a couple of hours, I drain them and let them cool, then start munching on them, pulling the shell off as I would any shelled peanut


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## pepperhead212 (Jan 18, 2019)

The shells become VERY soft, and pull off of the nuts, which very soft, and almost slimy, when boiled for several hours in the shells.  That's how I remember them, but it's been decades since I had them that way!


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## Linda0818 (Jan 18, 2019)

pepperhead212 said:


> The shells become VERY soft, and pull off of the nuts, which very soft, and almost slimy, when boiled for several hours in the shells.  That's how I remember them, but it's been decades since I had them that way!



They do become soft (never had slimy ones, haha) but you still have to peel them off. Some of the shells stay completely sealed.


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