Cajun Boiled Peanuts

There are some snacks that separate the intrepid from the staid, and none more so in the South than boiled peanuts. Among my circles, people have capital O-pinions about whether not boiled peanuts are ambrosia or abomination, but thankfully I fall into the former category.

I remember the first time I ever had a boiled peanut: we were on the way to my grandparents' house and had stopped for gas and a rest stop and my dad discovered that the gas station had one of those slow cooker boiler stations I'd seen before, filled with murky liquid and emanating an earthy, starchy, funky smell that I could only imagine was a cross between feet and refried beans. He enthusiastically grabbed a pre-packed container from the case next to the contraption and when we got back in the car, offered me my first boiled peanut. I have to tell you, at the ripe old age of something near 12 I looked at that thing with a whole lot of side-eye, but I remember cracking it open, popping the softened contents into my mouth, and being instantly in love with the salty goodness of that and of the peanut shell itself. I've always been a wholesale lover of all things salty (which is readily evident in my attitude as well as my appetites, my friends will tell you) and I've never to this day been able to say no to a boiled peanut.

Boiled peanuts have enjoyed somewhat of a comeback in recent years, spawning hip companies that offer flavors like chili-lime, barbecue, and other fun delicious varieties, and you can even get them canned if you're desperate (and they're pretty good, too!) I've long been a fan of the good old plain salted ones or the ones doused in Cajun spice for good measure though, and they're pretty easy to make at home, just requiring patience and a big ol' pot to boil them in. Fair warning that not everybody loves the slightly funky smell while they cook, or even when you bust them out for a snack, so be judicious if your partner, like mine, wrinkles their nose a bit. I tend to cook mine up when he's off on some all-day shenanigan in the fall when I can open the windows and doors and enjoy a good breeze. That said, mine do smell a lot better than the average these days due to the Southern Seafood Boil Spice and Cajun Seasoning Blend I use, so your mileage may vary in partner satisfaction: mine has improved dramatically in the past six years.

Early fall is the perfect time to spin up a choice batch of these delightfully salty snacks: raw peanuts appear in my local grocery stores with regularity, plump and fresh in their shells, perfect for the pot. I enjoy the heck out of them with a good beer, particularly a fruity hazy or sour, especially when catching a football game on a lazyish Saturday. (Roll Tide.) Two pounds or so of raw peanuts will make about three quarts of boiled peanuts, which I store in the fridge in their boiling juice, They also freeze well (without the extra juice) and are delicious when reheated in the microwave.