Boiled peanuts are quite simply green peanuts simmered in a salty brine. They’re a little salty, a little earthy, and a whole lot delicious. This is a real southern delicacy!
I grew up in a small community in southwest Georgia. A very small community. The entire population of my home county is about 6,100, and the population of the county seat, the only town in the county, is about 2,000. That’s small. The next nearest town is 15 miles away, and it is only slightly larger than my hometown.
I am inextricably bound to that little town and the people there. It is as much a part of me as I am of it. No matter where I go, no matter where I live, that tiny little town will always be home.
Up until I was in the third grade, my family lived about ten miles out of town on our farm. Even after we moved to “town,” Daddy continued to farm for many more years. Daddy raised cows and pigs, and he grew mostly corn and peanuts. As a matter of fact, everyone I knew grew peanuts.
Back in those days, peanuts were a big money crop. If you had a good year with your peanuts, you did quite well. Even the people who didn’t farm were in some way dependent on peanuts. If the farmers did well, the merchants did well. If you didn’t farm and weren’t a merchant, you probably worked for one of the peanut processing plants. All intertwined and all hoping for a good peanut crop year after year.
Peanuts Aren’t Actually Nuts
Did you know that peanuts are not actually nuts? They’re legumes. In the same family as beans and lentils. And they grow underground.
Peanut harvesting begins in early to mid-September each year. When the peanuts are ready to harvest, the farmers use machines that dig the plants up and invert them on top of the ground. The peanuts are left to dry for a time on top of the ground before harvesting begins.
Large peanut combines are driven up and down the rows of inverted peanuts. The combine picks up the plants, separates the vines from the peanuts, drops the vines back down on the ground, and propels the peanuts up and into a large container on the back. Once the container, or “hopper,” is full, the peanuts are dumped into special trailers. The trailers are pulled two or three at a time out of the field and taken to the local processing plant.
The Peanut Lullaby of Childhood
I can remember the sound of the peanut dryers running day and night at the peanut processing plants during peanut season. You could hear them from anywhere in town. They were the lullaby we fell asleep to on fall nights.
And the smell! Right now, if I close my eyes, I can imagine the smell of freshly dug peanuts. It’s the freshest, earthiest smell you can imagine.
A little while ago, I was driving toward home, and suddenly I smelled that freshly dug peanut smell! Sure enough, I rounded the next curve in the road, and there was a field of peanuts being picked. I felt like a little girl coming home.
Boiled Peanuts – What a Delicacy!
Part of living in a peanut-growing area is the joy of eating Boiled Peanuts. They are truly a “southern thing,” and I understand that some people outside of the South don’t find them very appealing. That’s okay — more for me!
If you want to make boiled peanuts, you will need “green” peanuts. Green peanuts are peanuts that have recently been dug and haven’t dried out or been roasted.
I vividly remember Daddy bringing home stacks and stacks of fresh peanuts still on the vines every fall. Mama, my sisters, and I would pick the peanuts off the vines, then wash them well, and Mama would cook them for us to enjoy.
Where I live now, I don’t have access to really fresh green peanuts, but one of the local grocery stores occasionally has them in the produce department. When I saw them there on a recent trip, I just had to have some.
How to Make Boiled Peanuts
There are several varieties of peanuts, and I saw at least three different types in this one bag. The small ones with the red skins are Spanish peanuts. The rounded, plump ones – like ballpark peanuts – are Virginia peanuts, and the long ones with 3 or more peanuts in a shell are Valencias or Runners.
I’m sure this is far more than anyone ever wanted to know about peanuts and peanut production! But, hey, now you know something that maybe you didn’t before, right?
Let’s get these peanuts boiling!
Wash the peanuts well to make sure all the dirt is dislodged. I usually fill the sink, dump the peanuts in, and agitate them.
Place the peanuts in a very large pot and add water to cover the peanuts by 1 inch or more. I typically use my crockpot so that I can just leave them alone to cook while I do other things in the kitchen.
Add the salt and stir well. Yes, it really does take a lot of salt to flavor the peanuts. However, a huge amount of the salt gets discarded with the cooking brine.
Bring it to a boil (or set the slow cooker on high), then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until done. Start testing for doneness after about 4 hours. The peanuts should have a soft, but not mushy, texture. Cook longer if needed. Sometimes it takes six or more hours for the peanuts to cook.
After the peanuts are done, drain the brine and store the peanuts in the refrigerator (if there are any left!). Don’t let them sit in the brine. They’ll get too salty.
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Recipe
Boiled Peanuts
Ingredients
- 1 gallon cleaned green peanuts
- ½ cup salt don't worry – most of it gets discarded
- Water
Instructions
- Wash the peanuts well to make sure all the dirt is dislodged. I usually fill the sink, dump the peanuts in and agitate them.1 gallon cleaned green peanuts
- Place the peanuts in a very large pot and add water to cover the peanuts by 1 inch or more.
- Add salt and stir well. Remember that a huge amount of the salt gets discarded with the cooking brine.½ cup salt
- Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until done. Start testing for doneness after about 4 hours. The peanuts should have a soft, but not mushy, texture. Cook longer if needed. Sometimes it takes 6 or more hours for the peanuts to cook.
- After the peanuts are done, drain the brine and store the peanuts in the refrigerator. Don’t let them sit in the brine as they'll become too salty.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Hi Lana, great intro to the peanuts! I grew up in Malaysia (South East Asia region) and my mom used to make boiled peanuts this way too! Sometime we get green peanuts in farmers market or asian groceries here in San Francisco. :)
Great story! I defnitely learned a few things about peanuts today ;-)
Never knew you could boil them, for a start, and legumes? Who knew. ;-)
I doubt if we will ever find green peanuts in South Africa, but I wil sure try them if I ever travel to the USA.
Hi Anneri – I’m glad I could teach you something about peanuts! I don’t know if you have green peanuts in South Africa, either, but I hope you get to try them some day!
Lana, peanuts came with okra and pea varieties from Africa.
Yes, they did.
Just found your blog today and love it. My grandparents lived in Statesboro, Ga. and were peanut farmers! I adore boiled peanuts! This was an excellent post!
Thanks so much, Susan! Those are wonderful memories of boiled peanuts from my childhood.
i just found your receipe for boiled peanut. My daddy grew them in Leslie, Ga. we used to boiled them and put in the frezzer for the winter and summer time. until they came back in the fall. sure do miss those times, and the country side.
Saw a recipe in magazine today. Came home to research tea cake recipes. Found yours and description of town where you grew up, then went to boiled peanuts. Amazing. I am from Baker County, went to school in Colquitt and Damascus. Love boiled peanuts. Find them in farmer’s market here in Virginia Beach. Their early ones come from Georgia and are the best. Your recipe sounds just like the way I boil mine. Don’t like them too salty.
Hi Patricia. Isn’t it amazing how people “find” each other on the internet! You wouldn’t believe how often I hear from someone from southwest Georgia looking for those old familiar recipes. I’m so glad you stopped by and hope you’ll visit again.
Thanks, Lana for sharing your memories
I grew up in France and for some reasons I have always been fascinated by peanuts. Maybe because one of my favorite superheroes when I was a kid got his strength from eating peanuts. Who knows…
I love your peanut story and your blog in general. You have a very warm, lovely sense of humor and your recipes look wonderful. I like the way you defend your southern culinary traditions ( we French people do that too…:) ).
Thanks again
Jacky
Wow I lived about 10 miles from Colquitt. It was in that little place called Hentown. My folks owned Whites Grocery I used to work sometimes with my dad there when I wasn’t in school.
That little town you described sounds like Blakely, Ga. I miss boiled peanuts and used to eat them all the time.
Brandi – that little I described is actually Colquitt, Ga. Pretty close!
Hi, Lana
i liked your recipes , specially this one !you know why ?I’m form South India it is our loving and yam food in peanut season. thanks for sharing. thanks a lot
Yay!! Another winner for football games! I looooove boiled peanuts! Definitely bookmarking your blog! My hometown is Hephzibah, Georgia =)
Love your blog! My daughter loves boiled peanuts I will have to give this a try for her. Every time we pass by a roadside stand she’s begging me to stop.
Again, I love, love, love your blog! We like to cook the same things, Southern Style.
I LOVE boiled peanuts, my mom grew up in southern GA and every time we go and visit our extended family this is a delicacy we all enjoy….that and some Dr. Pepper ;)
ENJOYED YOUR INFORMATION ON BOILING PEANUTS!! VERY VERY INFORMATIVE! I NEVER KNEW MOST OF THIS STUFF! I KNOW I WOULD NEVER FIND GREEN NUTS HERE WHERE I LIVE. I SURE WOULD LOVE TO TRY THEM. I LOVE PEANUTS! I HOPE YOU GET A COOKING SHOW!
I am SO jealous that you can find green peanuts. I too have family in Georgia (south east though- Irwinville) and miss dearly boiled peanuts. Can’t find them anywhere in MD.
Lana I am a bookkeeper at a south Georgia peanut buying point. My husband fries peanuts for the customers everyday. He uses a deep fryer with peanut oil – it doesn’t burn. Cooks the shelled peanuts about 3 minutes in very very hot oil. If they look brown they are overcooked. Glad you are letting others know about our southern delicacy boiled peanuts. You have a wonderful blog.