Classic Boiled Peanuts

It's easy to master this roadside staple at home—boiled peanuts take hardly any effort to make. All you need are peanuts, water, salt, and time. They're the perfect road trip snack, but great for tailgates and cookouts, too. Boiled peanuts also happen to be the perfect accompaniment to an ice cold beer, no matter the occasion.

Once you master the simple technique of making boiled peanuts, you can get creative with how you flavor them. Plain salt is classic, but you can add heat with cayenne or tang with vinegar, season with a Cajun spice blend or a touch of curry powder. No matter how you flavor them, you won't be able to resist popping these peanuts the moment they're done cooking.

History of Classic Boiled Peanuts

Peanutsare not native to the South, but made their way to the region on board slave ships, which were stocked with peanuts for the long voyage. Initially, peanuts were primarily grown and consumed by African American families, who had long traditions of boiling peanuts, according to Serious Eats.

Just like okra and black-eyed peas before them, peanuts eventually made their way to the dining room tables of white families. It was around the Civil War that peanuts became a more widely eaten snack, as people were hungry, and peanuts were available. But boiled peanuts didn't become the Southern icon we think of them as until the turn of the 20th century, when they began to appear in newspapers.

Ingredients for Classic Boiled Peanuts

Aside from water, you really only need two ingredients to make Classic Boiled Peanuts:

• lots of kosher salt
• raw or green peanuts

What's the difference between the two kinds of peanuts? Raw peanuts have been air-dried to reduce their moisture content, making them shelf-stable and available year-round. Green peanuts on the other hand are freshly dug from the field, and no moisture has been removed.

Some boiled peanut fans say you can only use green peanuts for making boiled peanuts, but raw peanuts work just as well. The only difference is an extended cooking time. Because green peanuts are only available during harvest season (and are highly perishable), they must be refrigerated and should be used within a few days of their harvest.

How To Make Classic Boiled Peanuts

Three simple steps get you the most delicious snack:

• Step 1. Soak overnight: Mix 2 gallons of water and 1/2 cup of salt in a large stockpot, stir to dissolve. Add raw peanuts. (Skip this step if you are using green peanuts.) Use a large dinner plate to help submerge the peanuts. Soak for 8 hours or overnight.
• Step 2. Drain and cook: Drain soaking water; add 2 gallons fresh water and 1 cup salt to peanuts. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, until peanuts are soft, 5 to 8 hours (2 to 3 hours for green peanuts), keeping the water in pot within an inch or so of its original level with regular additions of water.
• Step 3. Check peanuts: After the peanuts have boiled for 3 hours (1 hour for green peanuts), sample one to check for texture and salinity. If it crunches, keep cooking. If the brine lacks salt, add more by 1/4-cup amounts. If it is too salty, remove some of the water, and replace with the same volume of fresh water. Sample peanuts every hour until they are pleasantly tender and salty.
• Step 4. Cool and enjoy: Remove from heat, and let the peanuts cool in the pot for 1 hour (20 minutes for green peanuts). When cool enough to handle, drain and eat. Or store in the shell, in a sealed container, in the refrigerator 7 to 10 days or in the freezer several months.

The Proper Way to Shell a Peanut

It's easier than it sounds, if you take the advice of Test Kitchen Professional Karen Rankin: Using both hands, pinch the seam of the shell between your thumbs and forefingers until the top shell gives way, and then pry it off. You can lower your mouth to the peanuts and tease them out using your teeth, or pick them out of the shell with your fingers. Slurping the brine left in the bottom shell (like you would with oyster liquor) will earn you extra credit among aficionados.

Variations

They're delicious plain, but also try them paired with boldly flavored ingredients—from barbecue sauce to Old Bay seasoning.

• Beer and Old Bay: In Step 2, reduce kosher salt to ¾ cup and water to 1 gallon. Stir 6 (12-oz.) cans beer, 6 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning, and 2 halved lemons into brine. Bring to a boil, and continue with the recipe as directed.
• Smoky Barbecue: In Step 2, stir 2 cups barbecue sauce, 2 Tbsp. smoked paprika, 1 halved head of garlic, and 4 bay leaves into cooking liquid with kosher salt. Bring to a boil, and continue with the recipe as directed.
• Soy and Spice: In Step 2, reduce kosher salt to ¾ cup. Stir 2 ½ cups soy sauce, 2 (5-inch) cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, ¼ cup coriander seeds, and 1 ½ tsp. garlic powder into brine. Bring to a boil, and continue with the recipe as directed.

Editorial contributions by Alana Al-Hatlani.