Florida Rednecks

Boiled Peanuts and Florida Southern Food: Recipes and Traditions

Updated · By the Florida Rednecks team

Boiled peanuts are raw peanuts simmered in their shells in heavily salted water until soft, like a salty, tender bean. They're a roadside favorite across the South, sold from kettles at gas stations and fruit stands. The best boiled peanuts start with "green" peanuts, freshly harvested and not dried, which cook in a few hours. Dried raw peanuts work too, but need soaking and much longer cooking.

How to make boiled peanuts

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Rinse the peanuts well, scrubbing off dirt. Pick out any that are moldy or broken.
  2. If using dried raw peanuts, soak them in water overnight. This speeds cooking.
  3. Combine peanuts, water and salt in a large pot. Peanuts float, so set a heatproof plate on top to keep them submerged.
  4. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on. Green peanuts usually take about 2 to 4 hours. Dried raw peanuts can take 6 to 8 hours or more. Add hot water as needed to keep them covered.
  5. Taste as you go. After a couple of hours, pull one out, let it cool and crack it open. The peanut should be soft, like a cooked bean, with no crunch. If the brine isn't salty enough, add more salt; if it's too salty, add water.
  6. Soak off the heat. Once tender, turn off the heat and let them sit in the brine for an hour or so to absorb more flavor.
  7. Drain and serve warm, or chill them. Many folks prefer them cold on a hot day.

Slow cooker and pressure cooker options

A slow cooker on low overnight works well for dried raw peanuts. A pressure cooker can cut cooking time dramatically; follow your appliance's guidance, don't overfill it, and keep peanuts weighed down so shells don't clog the valve.

Cajun boiled peanuts

Add a few tablespoons of Cajun or crab boil seasoning, a couple of sliced jalapeños, a few garlic cloves and a splash of hot sauce to the pot. Reduce the plain salt a little, since many seasoning blends are salty.

Storage and safety

Boiled peanuts are perishable. Refrigerate them in their brine and eat within about a week, or freeze them in portions for months. Green peanuts are perishable too; refrigerate them and cook within a few days. If anyone in your crew has a peanut allergy, remember that boiled peanuts are still peanuts.

Fun fact: Florida doesn't have an official state snack, but South Carolina named boiled peanuts its official state snack, and you'll find them sold from Georgia to the Florida Keys.

Florida country food classics

Smoked mullet and fish spread

Mullet is a working-class Florida staple, especially on the Gulf coast. It's often smoked over hardwood and served whole or mixed into smoked fish spread with mayo, cream cheese, onion and hot sauce, eaten on saltines. Mullet festivals are held in several Florida towns.

Swamp cabbage

Swamp cabbage is the tender heart of the cabbage palm, or sabal palm, Florida's state tree. Cooked with bacon or salt pork, it was a pioneer staple. LaBelle holds an annual Swamp Cabbage Festival. Harvesting the heart kills the palm, so don't cut palms on public land or land you don't own; buy from legal sources.

Gator tail

Alligator meat, usually from licensed farms or legal harvest, is often cut into nuggets, marinated and fried. It's mild and firm, with a texture somewhere between chicken and fish. Gator can get tough if overcooked, so fry it fast and hot.

Frog legs

Frog gigging at night is an old Florida tradition, and fried frog legs still show up on menus in rural restaurants. Frogs taken for personal use are regulated by FWC; check current rules.

Grits, hushpuppies and fried fish

A classic Florida fish fry means fried catfish, bream or mullet with hushpuppies (fried cornmeal balls), coleslaw and cheese grits. Cook hushpuppies in the same oil after the fish for extra flavor.

Datil peppers and Minorcan chowder

St. Augustine is known for the datil pepper, a small, fiery, fruity pepper traditionally associated with the city's Minorcan community. It flavors hot sauces, jellies and Minorcan clam chowder, a tomato-based chowder.

Cuban sandwiches

The Cuban sandwich has deep roots in Florida's Cuban communities. Tampa and Miami have a friendly rivalry: Tampa's traditional version includes Genoa salami, a nod to the city's Italian immigrants, while Miami's typically doesn't.

Stone crab claws

Only the claws of the stone crab are harvested; the crab is returned to the water and can regrow claws. Season opens in mid-October and runs into spring. Claws are cooked right after harvest and usually served chilled with mustard sauce.

Key lime pie

Key lime pie is Florida's official state pie, made with tart Key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks in a graham cracker crust. Real Key lime pie is pale yellow, not green.

Florida citrus and orange juice

Orange juice is Florida's official state beverage. Citrus groves have been hurt in recent decades by citrus greening disease and hurricanes, but fresh-squeezed juice from roadside stands is still a Florida treat in winter.

Throwing a Florida fish fry