Do you love or dislike boiled peanuts? Did you grow up eating them?
I grew up eating roasted, baked or parched peanuts, and I might add that we called them parched but friends who did the same thing, called them roasted or baked so for us, whatever they were called, they were all the same thing.
I was well into adulthood the first time I had boiled peanuts. I worked with a lady from Mississippi and she loved them so I tried them and I thought they were the worst thing ever. In my opinion, someone had ruined perfectly good peanuts.
At some point, I started liking boiled peanuts and now, I actually love them. We still eat a lot of roasted peanuts but we eat plenty of boiled too. In fact, we eat enough of them that we buy them in 25 pound bags from Nuts.com.
We hadn’t brought any peanuts with us to MO so when we got back, we roasted some and Vince has been asking me to boil some so Thursday afternoon, I boiled up a batch.
Until a year or so ago, I boiled them on top of the stove but then I read that it could be done in the Instant Pot. What can you not do in the Instant Pot? I put about 1-1/2 pounds of dried raw peanuts in the IP, then add 10 – 12 cups of water. Really, it’s easier to put the water in first because there are markings on the pot that show where 10 and 12 cup measures are. Because we like our peanuts with a bit of a cajun taste, I had crab boil, salt and red pepper flakes to the water. Pressure cook on high for about 75 minutes. I usually forget about it and they stay in there for a while but I check them and almost always have to cook them another 20 or 25 minutes. We don’t like ours mushy but we don’t like them crunchy either.
Once they’re done, I turn the pot of and leave the nuts in the liquid overnight – sometimes about 24 hours.
I store them in the fridge and we like to heat them up before eating them so I save extra juice (in the pint jar – I usually save a quart of juice but didn’t have any quart jars in the house last night).
The home boiled peanuts, in my opinion, are so much better than storebought, canned boiled peanuts and doing them in the Instant Pot is so easy!
vivoaks says
I’ve had boiled peanuts once and really enjoyed them. We generally make a trip to Western NC to visit my folks once a year, which almost always includes a trip to Cherokee NC. There are lots of little shops, including some that sell boiled peanuts. At one place, the proprietor asked if we’d ever had them. When we told him we hadn’t he gave us samples. Definitely no cajun seasoning, but we liked them, so bought a small bag. We didn’t make it to NC this year becaue of Covid, but hopefully by next summer….
Donna says
I love good salted boiled peanuts. I grew up on them instead of roasted. It was like eating popcorn to us. A friend of my grandma’s grew them so we had a plentiful supply. Haven’t had them in a while but the memory brings bad childhood days. My husband thinks they’re disgusting so I don’t fix them often.
Teri says
I’ve never had them. Dumb question – do you eat the shells or still crack them?
Judy Laquidara says
We don’t eat the shells. Some people may.
Phyllis says
I prefer my peanuts raw. My Mom liked them parched as does my husband. We have tried the boiled ones a couple of times and did not like them at all. Was never sure if they were supposed to still be wet, which did not seem right.
Rebecca in SoCal says
I’m gobsmacked at 75 minutes (and more!) in the pressure cooker! It must have been an all-day process on the stovetop.
I think I’m going to go have some familiar roasted peanuts now. 🙂
Judy Laquidara says
Four to five hours on top of the stove, or longer.
Nelle Coursey says
I grew up on a peanut farm and we never had boiled peanuts. We loved the parched ones though. I guess I have never tried them because I thought I would not like them. But I don’t think you can beat the parched ones!!
Twyla says
Thanks again for giving me a good memory. Spending the night at my grandmother’s house included parched peanuts. She would put them under the broiler to crisp up the peanut shells and always forget them so when we grandkids smelled something burning the peanuts were done. LOL
Judy Laquidara says
That’s me! I wish I could get a stove without a broiler because every single thing I put under there, I forget about and ruin.
karen clark says
Just returned from Alabama and finally have internet again. Boiled peanuts are the bomb. I hated them when I married into this Southern family but now I love them! The saltier the better. Guess this Yankee has turned into a Southerner now since I love boiled peanuts, okra, collards, turnip greens, buttermilk biscuits and so much more.