One of my favorite things to do is go to a farmers market and pick up some local, fresh produce. Luckily for me, there is a really good one near my house. Andy's Garden and Farm Market is located in Vestavia (Birmingham), Alabama and it's open all year around. They always have fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, and it's just a 3 minute drive from my work. I like going there and picking up a few things to eat with lunch or grabbing some fresh goodies on the way home. As wonderful as I know this place is, I was shocked when I called last week and they said they DID have raw, green peanuts. If you aren't familiar with these, don't worry. Until I moved to the south, this cowgirl wasn't either. What are they used for, you ask? Why, boiled peanuts, of course!
Cajun Boiled Peanuts
They don't look much different than peanuts you would buy at the store, but believe me, you can't eat these things raw.
Like I said, I had never had these before I moved here. In fact, before I left Oklahoma, I had never even heard of a boiled peanut. Some gas stations around here will have them just cooking away in a crock pot and you can grab a cup full of them for not much more than a dollar.
Some people think they are better the mushier they are, but that is a personal preference. The first time I had them, yuck! I didn't like them at all. They reminded me of a mushy bean or something. But Chris really likes them so I thought I would try making them. I came up with a way to prepare them so that we BOTH like them.And for $1.99 a pound? Winning!
Cajun Boiled Peanuts
serves 8
2 pounds, green peanuts, raw*
1/4 C salt
1/4 C seasoning salt
1/4 C Cajun seasoning
Rinse the peanuts and pull off the stems. Place them in a large pot or French oven.
Cover the peanuts with water, then add a few more inches of water; the peanuts will float.
Bring the water to a boil and add salts and seasoning. Cook for 30 minutes and stir a few times.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2- 2 1/2 hours, or until desired texture.
A few tips: I liked them after they cooked for a few hours and were slightly cooled. Chris liked them the next day after they sat in the seasoned water, in the fridge overnight. I do not eat the shells, but there were a few in the batch that were soft enough to eat. Yes, Chris ate them. (He must be a CrAzY CaJuN!) *No, the peanuts aren't really green.
So here is the final product. Definitely NOT a mushy bean, but not crunchy either. Just....boiled. :)
If you don't like Cajun seasoning, leave it out and use another 1/4 C of salt. I like spicy things, but these were by no means spicy.
click to print
Thanks for stoppin' by cowgirl! Yee-haw! Well, I will have to say, I've always wanted to tried boiled peanuts. I love peanuts. I never get tired of them. I like the idea of spice! YUM!
ReplyDeletewe just don't see fresh peanuts up here in the north often. I would love to give them a try they look mighty temptin!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lauren and Dennis!
ReplyDeleteI see that this post is a year old, but I just found it via Pinterest. I am a born and bred South Carolina girl and have never known life without boiled peanuts. Friends and family "pout" if they find out I made them and didn't share, so 2 pounds isn't nearly enough. I make them in large batches of 8-10 pounds in a 16 quart roaster. It takes considerably longer to get them cooked "just right" though. I usually start mid-to-late afternoon and cook them around 350 degrees for about 8 hours. At bedtime, I turn them down to about 200 (just below boiling) and they are done the next morning.
ReplyDeleteThis Cajun batch sounds good though, but if I try it in this quantity, I will have to keep it a secret or there will be a riot among my friends and family.
I also was raised on boiled peanuts being from South Carolina. My boyfriend loves them!! We used to buy them already cooked from a produce stand. They had something a little different we found out to be the cajun seasoning. The stand closed which left me trying to figure out how to cook them. After numerous attempts at cook all day, a friend told me to use a pressure cooker!! AWESOME AND FAST! Let the pot come to pressure and turn heat down to about medium (on electric range) and cook for about minutes. I let mine sit in the water for about an hour, but the longer the better. It was worth it to buy the pressure cooker than the gas for the fish cooker that we usually used to cook them.
ReplyDelete