I'll trade ya all my boiled peanuts for your grits lolAs a Yankee transplant, I don’t care for tea and can barely stomach grits but I absolutely love boiled peanuts
As a Yankee transplant, I don’t care for tea and can barely stomach grits but I absolutely love boiled peanuts
There’s hope for you yet, sir! You’re a third of the way there .
Oh no. Gotta like collards too.
Only if they’re seasoned with fat back!Oh no. Gotta like collards too.
You can't go more than a few miles on Florida rural highways without a roadside stand for boiled peanuts. I believe one even made the Food Network for some special. I have to say that I'm sorely disappointed in North Carolina's offering of this excellent food! I tried making my own once--that was a disaster. Tried green peanuts and cooked them low and slow for 8+ hours. No dice.
What recipes are you guys using? I throw em in a crock pot add salt and bam bp. Love em
Oh no. Gotta like collards too.
So they literally boil for the whole time? A 2.5-3hr minute boil?I personally prefer the large white peanuts (though the small red Spanish peanuts ore ok) boiled in a large stock pot for 2 1/2 to 3 hours with 1.5-2 cups of salt. If they’re green that’s about all the time required. I then take them off the heat and let them sit until they sink to the bottom of the pot before removing them to bag and freeze. If they’re taken out too soon the moisture evaporates from the shell. They’ll keep for quite a while frozen. One of my favorite things to munch on while watching football. I’ve tried them seasoned with different things like Old Bay, but plain old salt is just fine for me.
I'm gonna have to try that.
It's reached a sad state of affairs when you have to rely on the canned stuff at the grocery store. They're not too bad, but they aren't fresh, that's for sure.
See...validation that I'm not crazy with my Florida comment previously!Growing up in FL, boiled peanuts were sold at every produce stand and gas station.
... If you are near Farmville, NC there is a farmer that has a roadside stand on hwy 264 alternate just about 1 mile off of 264 at exit 60. $1.50 per pound or so if under 10lbs and usually just over $1/lb if you buy 20lbs. I don't think he is set up yet. He picks the hole plant, has workers pick them by hand off the stalk, and then washes them so you get generally clean and large peanuts.
There's dried (dried in the peanut trailers, not roasted) raw peanuts and then there are green peanuts fresh out of the ground. The dried never did come out right but can be ok if you soak them for a few days before boiling. Of the green, I like the first of the harvest (or just pre harvest) where the peanut is not completely filling out the hull, this allows them to swell while boiling but not stick in the shell when done. The dried peanuts usually stick in the shell bad.
My recipe is for a turkey frying pot with about half full or so of water (6-8oz of salt) and fill with peanuts until near the top. Boil for 2-3 hours while stirring until tender and then transfer them (peanut and juice) to a cooler or plastic bucket to cool overnight. This soaking allows them to soak up some salt and tenderize. They do taste different pre and post soaking. I use a large food grade bucket with a towel over top to cool in. It sounds like a lot of salt but in the end they are not that salty and no where near as salty as the ones in the can. Do not reuse the water if using multiple cookings. Keep the juice with that batch for soaking.
A few years back I tried cooking some smoked ham hocks in the juice, but they didn't take much of the flavor for the extra expense.
I usually do 20-40lbs or so a year and freeze them in quart and half gallon bags. Friend's wife from MD said "I don't like them" I had her try these and she took the rest of the bag home and came back for more. To reheat them from frozen, use a corningware with a lid and a bit of water.
If you are near Farmville, NC there is a farmer that has a roadside stand on hwy 264 alternate just about 1 mile off of 264 at exit 60. $1.50 per pound or so if under 10lbs and usually just over $1/lb if you buy 20lbs but that was 2017 prices. I don't think he is set up yet. He picks the whole plant, has workers pick them by hand off the stalk, and then washes them so you get generally clean and large peanuts.
See...validation that I'm not crazy with my Florida comment previously!
Ahhhh, a seasoned expert, I see! Yes, I believe the soak is the key. It’s the only way to get the best flavor and keep them from drying out. I like em juicy! I’ve used a turkey fryer outfit, too, and that’s the way to go if you’re doing a bushel or more. Have you ever done the red peanuts? I’ve bought them (Cromer’s in Columbia used to be the best) but they don’t taste. As good as the white skinned large peanuts to me.