Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tuesday's Tip


GOOOOOOOO Dawgs!!!! It's football season, y'all!! Football usually means cooler weather, cute outfits, happy fans, Guthrie's chicken fingers, and boiled peanuts. My man LOVES some boiled Georgia peanuts. There is not much he likes better during a football wing than boiled peanuts. You need GREEN peanuts to make boiled peanuts. If you're not in Georgia, they can be a bit trickier to find in your local grocery store. Sometimes Fresh Market will carry them. Making boiled peanuts is easy, but it takes a lot of time. I'll share my recipe with you, and you can tweak it as you like. But this week's tip is not the recipe, but about efficiency.
A dear friend from our children's school, Caroline, is also a big Georgia bulldawg fan. She grew up in Georgia where her daddy farmed Georgia peanuts! The girl knows her peanuts. She said her Daddy would bring in a large amount of fresh green peanuts and put them in a huge pot in the kitchen. He would cook more than enough peanuts for Saturday's game. Then, he would take ziploc baggies and FREEZE single serving sized bags of boiled peanuts in the salt brine water. Is that not smart? Each Friday night or Saturday morning, he takes a bag of peanuts out of the freezer and lets it thaw. All year long he can have the freshest boiled peanuts whenever he wants! I just love a man that loves his boiled peanuts like that!
If you're married or have a brother or father who loves boiled peanuts, I challenge you to use this special tip this season and make some boiled peanuts and freeze some. You will make some man mighty happy!
***When eating boiled peanuts, it's fun to suck on the shell before throwing it away as the delicious salt is in the shell. MMMMM GOOD!!!!****



Boiled Peanuts:
To make 14 cups, your ingredients are below:

2 pounds dried raw peanuts - also known as GREEN peanuts
1/2 to 2/3 cup salt

1. Soak peanuts in water to cover in a large stock pot at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. (You may need to weigh down peanuts with a large plate or lid to ensure that they are fully submerged.) Drain and rinse. I put the peanuts in a large pot overnight and let them soak. Sometimes I have to put a brick on top of them to keep them weighted down and submerged in water.

2. Place peanuts and desired amount of salt in stock pot with 4 1/2 qt. water; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 6 hours or until peanuts are tender, adding water as needed to keep peanuts covered; stir occasionally.

3. Remove from heat; let stand 1 hour.

Cajun Boiled Peanuts: Proceed with Step 1, adding 1/2 cup Cajun seasoning to water. Proceed with Step 2, using 1/2 cup salt and 5 to 7 Tbsp. liquid Cajun crab boil before bringing to a boil. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Ham-Flavored Boiled Peanuts: Proceed with Step 1. Omit Step 2, and bring 6 qt. water and 2 smoked ham hocks to a boil in a large stock pot. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours. Remove and discard ham hocks. Cool broth; chill 8 hours. Skim fat from broth. Add peanuts and 1/2 cup salt to broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 6 hours or until tender, adding water as needed to keep peanuts covered; stir occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand 1 hour.

Store cooked peanuts in the refrigerator up to three days or freeze for later use!

9 comments:

Gwennie said...

The last time we were in Georgia, we saw a sign for boiled peanuts, and, of course, had to pull over and get this local treat. Well... it must be an acquired taste, because we weren't so gung ho. Maybe if you grow up with it, it's a taste of childhood and home. I guess here in Wisconsin it's brats and saurkraut! I will try them again when I see them, they may just grow on me.

Jennifer said...

That's a great idea! We love boiled peanuts and are having a hard time finding them in Nashvile. It's times like this that I miss the Raleigh Farmer's Market - they had everything including green peanuts.

Jo said...

Can you believe I've never had a boiled peanut? I think I'm missing out!

Jo

The B Family said...

The B family loves boiled peanuts! We started a new Friday evening tradition this summer--Mr. B would pick up a couple of bags of boiled peanuts on his way home from work, I'd make a bunch of Coke floats in frosty mugs and we'd enjoy them on the front porch as we eased into the weekend. Southern goodness! My mother is from Georgia and likes to bring back green peanuts and boil them herself. We usually buy from a stand or--if having company--buy a big can or two from Winn Dixie and keep them hot in the crock pot all day. Yum!

Leelee said...

Boiled peanuts and Go Dawgs!!! I always buy from the road side guy by the Farmer's Market...I may have to try and make some myself...

Kim said...

I can't believe it took me years before I would eat them, but they sure are yummy and soooo addictive. You can't eat just one (bag)!

We always get them on the way into the Braves game and our Landmarks group sells them every Saturday morning at the farmer's market on the square.

Town and Country House said...

Oh, yum! I have a child with peanut allergies, so I probably won't be making these, but I will sure be picking some up next time I'm tailgating!

Donna said...

Interesting recipe...my hubby would love it for sure!!
Sometimes I want to live there (for many reasons) just because you have the neatest name for your team...Go Dawgs....so funny!! Have fun!!!

bevy said...

We loved bo'led peanuts in my family. My daddy makes the best!

Oh... And sorry about your loss to our fighting Gamecocks! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!). :)