Posted on 07/09/2003 12:03:08 PM PDT by aomagrat
On our way to the beach for the Fourth of July, we made a pit stop for boiled peanuts.
Couldn't get there without them.
They cured the "car fever" that was ailing us and got us in just the right mood for our long-awaited, patriotic beach venture.
And better yet, when we arrived at our brother-in-law's house, he had a big pot of his own peanuts boiling.
That's where the conversation got started. Do you like yours "al dente" or so soggy that you slurp 'em more than you eat 'em?
I prefer the slurping variety. And the saltier the better. Sometimes the shell goes down with the peanut, too.
My brother-in-law, on the other hand, likes his peanuts crunchier, and since he was controlling the pot, he got to fix them just the way he likes them.
Personal preferences aside, no one seemed to mind. We ate boiled peanuts until the piles of shells mounting in front of us became downright embarrassing.
So after getting back into the office this week, I decided to do a little research - determined to find out how the boiled peanut got its start.
The delicacy is definitely one of the Southern variety, and it seems to have started in areas where, of course, large peanut crops were harvested.
Damon Fowler writes in "Classical Southern Cooking" that the peanut harvest in states such as Georgia was celebrated with big iron wash pots filled with boiling peanuts.
"A good boiling drew several hundred people," Fowler writes.
In "Corn Bread Nation 1," a delightful collection of Southern food stories compiled by the Southern Foodways Alliance, Matt and Ted Lee of Charleston write that their road trips always begin with a sack of soggy goobers.
The brothers also sell peanuts through their Lee Brothers Boiled Peanut Catalog business, which prides itself in getting the best of Southern food to folks beyond the Mason-Dixon line. (You can buy pickles, grains, preserves and "I Brake for Boiled Peanuts" bumper stickers from them, too. See www.boiledpeanuts.com.)
But I digress.
In "Cornbread Nation," the Lee brothers write that their favorite peanut stand - the only good boiled peanuts are found at the funky roadside stands that dot the South's back roads and hillsides - is Harry's on John's Island, about 15 miles south of Charleston.
Here's what else the brothers say about the wonderful bean food:
"Aside from their addictive flavor and beguiling aroma, boiled peanuts are associated with a particular outdoorsy, take-life-as-it-comes, often anticommercial attitude that is endangered in the New South, with its Wal-Marts, nationally televised golf classics and gated communities."
Yep, there's definitely something humbling about eating a boiled peanut. It's salt-of-the-earth stuff at its very best. Pure. Simple. Delicious.
Like my brother-in-law, you can make your own. To get you started, I'm including Southern food expert Damon Fowler's recipe here. But for the authentic experience, stop and pick up a bag the next time you see a primitive-looking sign that brags, "Get Your Boiled Peanuts Here." You won't be sorry.
By the way, if you have a favorite boiled peanut stop in South Carolina, write me. We could pull together a list and give all those vacationers something to write home about.
Now, to prepare your peanuts, here's what Fowler suggests. Get a pound of green peanuts. (You can use raw, unroasted peanuts, too. The green peanuts are the freshest and must be used quickly or they will spoil.)
After washing your peanuts (shells on), place them in a large kettle, adding water until the water is about an inch above the buoyant peanuts. Fowler kindly explains that you'll have to push the peanuts down with your hand to determine when the water is at the right level.
For each quart of water, add a rounded tablespoon of salt. (He suggests one quart of water for one‘pound of peanuts.) You can add more salt if you like, but allow the peanuts to cook a bit before deciding.
After bringing the peanuts to a boil, turn down the heat and allow them to simmer, as long as two hours, depending on how you like your peanuts. (Return to conversation about crunchy vs. slurpy.)
Allow your peanuts to sit in the brine a bit as they cool.
To serve, remove peanuts (shells still on) from the brine and serve in a large bowl, accompanied by another container for the shells.
A good rocking porch is the best place to eat boiled peanuts (or while tooling down the road with your best bud and a favorite tune).
This is messy, divine eating. Don't miss the experience.
Damn, Hoss; you done flung a cravin' on me!
Never had any. Have no desire. But these guys towing their boiled peanut pots behind their '87 Taurus wagaons, can stop in any vacant lot and have a crowd in no time. There must be something to it for Southerners.
This may be a good way to sort out the sheep from the yankee goats at a political rally.
What about grits. :P
I am from Texas, and am living in North Carolina, but until 10 years ago had never seen them outside central North Carolina.
So9
I bought about 6 bags on my way down from TN to Destin, FL last week. I found a pretty good place to get them on Hwy 331 about 25 mi. south of Montgomery, AL. I'll be stopping by that place from now on when I'm on my way down to the family condo.
I live in Eastern TN in sight of the Appalachians, and roadside boiled peanut stands are all around our area, but not right here in it. I can drive down to Chatsworth, GA which is about 20 mi from my house to get some pretty good ones that come right out of the vat. Helen, GA also is dotted with various boiled peanut stands, and virtually every merchant in the area, no matter what business they are in, sells boiled peanuts. And how could I leave out the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area for it's boiled peanut legacy?!?!
Diffrent areas prepare them differently I have found out. LA (lower Alabama) boiled peanuts are more salty, and tend to be mushier, while the North GA variey are more firm and they actually tend to add spices to the brine in which the peanuts are boiled. The Carolina's add vinegar to the brine, which I am a big fan of. Well, I'm always trolling the net for new boiled peanut recipes since I figured out that fancy turkey fryer of mine makes a d@mn fine peanut boiler! Let me know if any of y'all got any good recipes or ideas for fixin' up a mess of boiled peanuts! Do we need to start a boiled peanut ping list here?
Grits, in and of themselves, have NO taste.
They become whatever you slather them in.
(Butter and salt is most common, red-eye gravy if you want to wiggle in joy)
I'll bet it took me ten years of living in the South before boiled peanuts actually tasted good to me. I will say they are probably more digestable boiled, taste a lot like black-eyed peas to me. I don't crave them, but I don't turn them down.
Yes, they are spreading like cancer.
So9
Gotta be talkin' about "okrie" as my ol' Granddad used to say. Love it!
Actually grits have a taste, I eat mine plain, you should try it some time, they are good.
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