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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.
Me too!
So9
Actually not.
A food item (and that is being charitable) that is eaten only in one small part of North Carolina and despised everywhere else in the south can hardly be called Southern.
So9
Southern women taste alot better.
They have some great Southern eats! Yummmmy
Synthetic Snot
So9
A food item (and that is being charitable) that is eaten only in one small part of North Carolina and despised everywhere else in the south can hardly be called Southern.
What part of the South are you from? Around here you can get fresh boiled peanuts from the Piggly Wiggly and Wal Mart every day.
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