Bill Neal

Boiled Peanuts

Preparation info
  • Yields

    2 cups

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
Bill Neal's Southern Cooking
Bill Neal's Southern Cooking

By Bill Neal

Published 1985

  • About

Boiled peanuts are surely a strange snack, but were once as popular as roasted ones. I remember well my Great-great-aunt Sara’s search for her personal vender among the stalls of the Farmers’ Market in Columbia, South Carolina.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (475 ml) green peanuts, raw and in the shell
  • 4 cups (950

Method

Put the peanuts, in their shells, into a saucepan, add the water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a good simmer and cook approximately 25 minutes. Time will vary depending upon the size and freshness of the peanuts. When done, the kernel should have swollen to fill the pod well and the taste of raw starch will have been dissipated. The peanut will remain slightly chewy. Serve h