So I was doing some research on green vs raw peanuts and I began seeing that A LOT of people have tried to make the legendary “BOIL’T” (as we call it in the south) and have failed. This completely dumbfounded me (not hard to do). As a southern man that grew up eating boil’t his whole life, I have never known it to be difficult. I began making my own eventually and I have never gone back to the evil Peanut Patch or even Hawks, which the latter ain’t half bad. Now this really tore me up, seeing as people have trouble making the delicacy of the South. So I’m here to share some love, I’m going to give you my very own boil’t recipe, and answer any questions along the way.
BOILED PEANUTS RECIPE
- 2 pound raw peanuts, in shells
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 jalapenos (sliced into rings) [optional]
- 2 habaneros (diced) [optional]
- 1 (3 ounce) package dry crab boil (boil in bag variant is the best)
- 4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- Old Bay (optional, for dusting before serving)
Cooking time:
- Raw peanuts – 8 to 20 hours
- Green peanuts – 4 to 8 hours
Steps:
- Prepare the produce, if you’re using green peanuts, wash them please. Them shits is dirty as hell.
- Place everything in a crock-pot/slow cooker.
- Add water until the peanuts have a slight float to them. You can push your hand on them slightly and feel the give. If they aren’t below the water during cooking, add a little bit more water as necessary.
- Turn the slow cooker to high and let it go 8-20 hours depending on your desired doneness.
- Cut the heat and let them sit for a bit, this is up to personal taste, but in my house, we set the pot to the “warm” setting and let it go all day. Letting them sit is actually important because it let’s the juice really penetrate the shell.
If my calculations are correct (they aren’t), this is where 99% of users go wrong: COOKING TIME.
First off, every slow cooker is different. So there is variation, but generally speaking…
Raw peanuts are going to take anywhere from 8-20 hours of boiling on high to finish. Yes. I am not lying. From reading the plethora of comments and complaints that prompted me to do this write-up, most users were pulling the boil’t before they were even close. Let me save you here…
Try one. If they have fully submerged from cooking, it’s been maybe 8 hours, try one. If the nut inside is hard or crunchy, especially without juice inside, they’re not done. The nut inside should be moist at least, and tender. Not dry, crunchy or hard.
Big tip here: don’t stress. Don’t get anxious. This is what dumbfounded me the most about others failing at boil’t. This is one of the easiest dishes I’ve made in my entire life. Bar none. You set it and forget it, hours later you check back and you’re looking into the pot like it’s full o’ gold. Getting worried it won’t work out, that’ll do more harm than letting them accidentally go too long on high.
FAQ:
“Why not put red pepper flakes?”
- Frankly put, I prefer my boil’t HOT. SPICY. But, without all the extra flakes and other bits to sweep off while eating.
“Why not use normal crab boil that you can dump in the pot?”
- Same reason as above, gets rid of all the bits to sweep off while eating. If you like this or the above, try it! The world is your peanut to crack.