Boiled Peanuts

Simple. Heavenly. I simply LOVE boiled peanuts. I'm not a big fan of roasted. But, mmmm, boiled... Salted, Cajun, whatever. LOVE.

So, how do you make them? Well, first, you need to get some raw "green" peanuts. You want to make sure that they aren't too large. If they're so large that you can hear the peanuts rolling around inside the shell, then you probably want to pass. I've noticed that, once the peanuts get to a certain age, the shell gets too thick for flavor to penetrate. Then you end up with overcooked peanuts that really have no flavor. No good, right?

Once you've selected your peanuts, just drop them in a crock pot. You shouldn't fill the crock more than 2/3 the way full, but lower than that might be safer. You then want to pour water over the peanuts, making sure that you reach roughly the same level of the crock as you did with the peanuts (the peanuts will float, so it will be hard to tell - it doesn't have to be perfect). For basic, salted peanuts, of course, all you'll want for seasoning is salt. The amount will vary depending on your tastes. 1/2 cup seems to be the "average" amount: it gives plenty of flavor without being overwhelmingly salty.

Turn the crock pot on low. Best to do this in the morning. Let it cook for about 3 hours, then start checking about every hour, until peanuts achieve desired doneness. The amount of time will depend on your preferences, the amounts you've put into the crock, and your particular crock pot.