Boiled Peanut Recipe – A Southern Tradition

boiled peanut recipe

This boiled peanut recipe is a southern tradition and a delicious mess. You can readily find boiled peanuts sold along roadsides throughout the Southern USA. Boiled peanuts are a messy treat–and a little bit of work to eat–they’re kinda like eating pistachios in a soggy shell (not taste-wise, just work-wise). I love ’em–I don’t make them, ’cause I’m too lazy–but I’m always happy to eat them when CG boils up a batch, especially if she’s digging them out of the shells for me.

Boiled Peanut Recipe Ingredients

3 lbs RAW “green” PEANUTS
½ cup SALT
optional:
BAY LEAVES
CHILI POWDER
GARLIC fresh or dried
HOT PEPPERS fresh or dried
HOT SAUCE
flavored BOULLION (broth)
…pretty much any seasoning that you like!

southern boiled peanuts
southern style boiled peanuts

How to make a Boiled Peanut Recipe

Ideally you want to use raw “green” peanuts. Green peanuts are not green, that just means they’re minimally processed–pretty much just out of the ground. Use green peanuts quickly, because they will not keep long and are prone to mold. Green peanuts are ideal because they will more quickly and most readily absorb the seasonings during the boil. You can use peanuts that have been dried in the shell, but don’t use roasted peanuts.

Wash and rinse the peanuts thoroughly, and then place them in a large pot and cover with plenty of water.

Place on the stovetop, cover and bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and allow the peanuts to cook for 2 hours. Add more water to the pot as needed. The peanuts should always be covered in plenty of water. At first the peanuts will float, but after time, the peanuts will sink.

After 2 hours, add seasonings (it’s in the latter part of the boil that the peanuts absorb the most flavor). Add salt, which is the primary ingredient–in fact salt is all you need; many folks JUST USE SALT–they’re plenty tasty that way, but we prefer to add other seasonings as well, which is generally called “cajun boiled peanuts”. For this batch we added several cloves of raw garlic, dried chili peppers, and ½ cup chili powder. But you can add whatever seasonings you like.

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Cover, and allow the peanuts to continue bubbling on medium heat for 30 more minutes.

After thirty minutes, remove the peanuts from the heat and allow to sit in the seasoned water until they reach the desired flavor, anywhere from 2-5 hours. The longer they sit cooling in the pot, the more seasoned they will become. Give them a try every half hour until you’re happy with the flavor.

They are a mess to eat, but delicious and addictive. Once you start eating them, it’s hard to stop–they will go quickly! If you have leftovers, just drain them and store them in the fridge in ziplock bags. You can also freeze them in ziplocks for longer storage.

Give this Boiled Peanut Recipe a try and let me know what you think, and bon appétit!

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And for another tasty southern style treat, try this Country Fried Steak Recipe.

country fried steak
Cube steak is a hammered and tenderized cut of round or top sirloin steak

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Shrimp Remoulade Recipe …Best Shrimp Salad Ever!

shrimp remoulade salad
Shrimp remoulade salad is one of my all-time favorite dishes.  I used to eat this all the time when I lived in New Orleans—and I never go back without making a stop at the Gumbo Shop for a taste.  I don’t know exactly how the Gumbo Shop prepares shrimp remoulade sauce, but this recipe is how I throw it together.   A lot of ingredients go into the sauce, but it’s worth the effort.  Give it a try!

What You Need to Make Shrimp Remoulade

TOMATO PUREE (½ cup)
MUSTARD (¼ cup –creole, stone ground, or dijon)
HORSERADISH (2 tsp –prepared)
GREEN ONION (1 tsp, minced)
PARSLEY (1 Tbsp, finely chopped)
WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE (½ tsp)
MAYONNAISE (3-5 Tbsp)
CELERY (1 Tbsp, minced)
GARLIC (1 clove, minced)
CHILI POWDER (1 tsp)
PAPRIKA (1 tsp, smoked)
SUGAR (1 tsp, optional
SALT (to taste)
HOT SAUCE (½ tsp)
LEMON JUICE (1 Tbsp)
OLIVE OIL (1 Tbsp)
VINEGAR (1 tsp)
Salad Ingredients:
SHRIMP (1 lb, boiled)
SALAD GREENS
TOMATO SLICES
GREEN ONION (chopped, optional)
shrimp remoulade
Shrimp Remoulade is a New Orleans classic

How to Make Shrimp Remoulade

The Remoulade Sauce:

To make the sauce, just mix all the sauce ingredients together (really?!).  I’m using tomato puree in this version, but I’ve also made this dish using ketchup or tomato sauce; it will be thinner if you use those two, but that can be a good thing, especially if you want to toss the greens in the remoulade sauce.  Sugar is optional and definitely not needed if you’re using ketchup, which is usually sweet enough.  Sometimes I’ll add a teaspoon of onion powder.  This is a great recipe to play with, but be judicious with the mayonnaise!  Using fresh ingredients like parsley, garlic, green onion, and celery will really make this sauce shine.  You can definitely make and serve the sauce immediately, but making it hours ahead or even the day before will embolden the flavors.  Embolden the flavors?  I’m not sure if that’s the right way to say that, but you know what I mean.

The Shrimp:

I’m using 1 pound of deveined shrimp in the shell. For this salad, the bigger the shrimp the better, but I usually get whatever’s on sale—any kind of shrimp is gonna be delish in this dish. Before boiling, prepare a bowl of ice water to cool the shrimp after cooking—this will keep the shrimp from becoming overdone (tough and rubbery).
Put a pot of water on the stove and add 2 bay leaves and a generous amount of salt. Bring the pot to a boil and add the shrimp. I find a pound of shrimp takes about 2 minutes, but this will vary depending on the size of the shrimp and the amount of water in the pot. For sure, they will cook fast. Do not ignore them—it’s not a good time to multi-task. When the shrimp turn pink, they’re done. Get ’em out of the hot water and into the ice bath—this will halt the cooking process, and your shrimp will be perfecto (and now that they’re cooked, they’ll be super easy to peel).
Toss the shrimp in the remoulade sauce and serve over a bed of fresh greens. I like to garnish the salad with green onion and fresh tomato. Serve with saltines or a loaf of French bread and soft butter. Let the salivating begin.
And bon appétit!

calamari salad squid
Be adventurous and TRY A CALAMARI SALAD!

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–Chef Buck

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