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Spicy Cajun Boiled Peanuts Recipe

Jim here with another one of my favorites – – boiled peanuts! A true Southern staple. In summer and early fall you see boiled peanuts everywhere. Pickup trucks setup on street corners with giant cookers boiling peanuts is a common sight all across the south. 

Boiled peanuts have definitely grown on me over the years. I went for years without touching them, then I would try them a couple times a year, and now I’ve started cooking them myself frequently. If you’ve never had a boiled peanut, it really is kind of liked a cooked pea (hence the nickname “goober peas”). They are soft and take on some of the flavoring that you add. 

Boiled peanuts

My recipe below is a great starting point. Nice and spicy with plenty of salt. However, you should feel free to experiment with the seasoning. Maybe try adding some jalapeños or beer (hint, hint).

The key is finding the freshest green peanuts that you can. They’ll cook quicker and taste better.

Spicy Cajun Boiled Peanuts
Boiled peanut perfection! Spicy and salty with that great boiled peanut flavor.
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 2 pounds green peanuts, picked over
  2. 1/4 C salt
  3. 1/4 C cajun seasoning
Instructions
  1. Place the peanuts in a large pot and cover with water.
  2. Add salt and cajun seasoning and boil (over high heat) until done. Hulls should be easy to open and peanuts should be soft, but not mushy. Cooking time depends largely on the freshness of the peanuts, but figure 2-4 hours.
  3. Keep adding water as necessary to keep peanuts submerged.
  4. Store in large plastic bags, with a little of the cooking liquid, in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave.
Notes
  1. Experiment with your own seasonings and flavorings to make this recipe your own.
  2. IMPORTANT: Boiled peanuts will continue to absorb salt from the cooking liquid after you turn off the heat. If your peanuts need to be saltier, just let them sit. If they are salty enough already then don't let them sit in the liquid.
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How to Eat Boiled Peanuts

I like to put a bunch of boiled peanuts in a bowl and add a little extra cajun seasoning (or salt) on top. You’ll want to make sure some of the peanut cooking liquid is in the bowl too… it’s tasty. Crack open the peanuts and enjoy. Don’t eat the shells.

Cajun Boiled Peanuts recipe

 

Have you ever seen or tried boiled peanuts? Let me know in the comments!

Root Beer Glazed Ribs

These are the best ribs we’ve ever made at home. Seriously, they are that delicious! We’ve made ribs hundreds of times, but none have been this amazing. 

Root beer glazed ribs

Root Beer Glaze

Let’s talk root beer for a minute. I’ve never been a huge fan. Jim loves root beer and tries to keep a few bottles in the fridge at all time. I recently tried some of the root beer that Jim got at Starbucks and really liked the spice it had, so when he suggested a root beer glaze / sauce for some barbecued ribs I was totally on board. The root beer glaze is totally different from any barbecue sauce that we’ve made before. It’s a bit sweeter, with some spice notes. It also has a touch of sriracha, so there’s a bit of heat too. 

The Ribs

Big racks of spare ribs are typically our go-to rib cut. However, we saw some beautiful St. Louis-style spareribs at the grocery store and decided to go with them this time. St. Louis-style ribs are just spareribs that have been trimmed a bit look more uniform. You don’t have as many of the small bones and cartilage as you see in traditional spareribs. These beauties cooked a little more quickly because of the size, which is always a good thing.

Barbecue Time

Jim cleaned up the ribs and removed the skin from the back. Then he coated them with his homemade rib rub and let them sit for about an hour before throwing them on the smoker. We use a mixture of oak (75%) and hickory (25%) for smoking, and try to keep the temp in the 250 to 300 degree range. Any lower than that and things get too smoky.  They cooked in about 3.5 hours.

Root beer glazed ribs recipe

 

Ribs on the smoker

Root Beer Glazed Ribs

Root Beer Glazed Ribs
Serves 6
Quite possibly the world's best barbecued ribs. The sweet and spicy root beer glaze offers a twist on the traditional bbq sauce.
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
3 hr 45 min
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
3 hr 45 min
Total Time
4 hr 15 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 racks of St. Louis-style ribs
  2. 1 C Sweet and Smoky BBQ Rub
  3. 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
  4. 1 C Water
  5. 12 Oz Root Beer
  6. 1/8 C Turbinado Sugar
  7. 2 Tbsp Ketchup
  8. 1 Tsp Sriracha
  9. 1/2 Tsp Salt
  10. 1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
  1. Peel away the skin on the back of the ribs
  2. Season both sides of the ribs liberally with the rib rub (recipe below)
  3. Cook in smoker for 3.5 hours at 250-300 degrees F
  4. Combine water and apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spray ribs every hour while cooking
  5. While ribs are cooking, combine root beer, turbinado sugar, ketchup, sriracha, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring frequently.
  6. Sauce the ribs about 30 minutes before cooking time is up.
  7. Slice ribs into 2 bone sections and serve.
Notes
  1. Sweet and Smoky BBQ Rub recipe is at http://savedbythekale.com/sweet-smoky-bbq-rub-recipe/
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Your Turn

We love barbecue in the Lastinger household. What’s your favorite style of bbq? Have any amazing sauce or rub recipes you want to share? Jim is always available for barbecue questions, so feel free to ask in the comments.