How Long to Cook Southern Boiled Peanuts (raw green peanuts in shell) in the boiling
Specification: 2 lbs raw green peanuts in the shell (or 1.5 lbs dried raw peanuts soaked 8 hrs), added to 3 gallons of aggressively-salted water (1 cup kosher salt) in a 12-qt stockpot, simmered until the shell yields to a thumbnail
3-Step Execution Protocol
Preheat boiling to 200°F (93°C) — bare simmer, NOT a rolling boil. Prepare southern boiled peanuts (raw green peanuts in shell) (2 lbs raw green peanuts in the shell (or 1.5 lbs dried raw peanuts soaked 8 hrs), added to 3 gallons of aggressively-salted water (1 cup kosher salt) in a 12-qt stockpot, simmered until the shell yields to a thumbnail).
Cook for 4–8 hrs for green peanuts, 6–10 hrs for dried. Do not flip; allow surface to develop undisturbed.
A cooled peanut opens with a thumbnail press to reveal a soft, salted nut that has the yielding, wet-bean-like texture of a cooked garbanzo — not crunchy like a roasted peanut. The shell has darkened from green to olive-brown and is soft rather than brittle. Rest for 30 minutes before serving.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension "Boiled Peanuts" reference (Bulletin 1146, salt concentration and cook-time guidance for green vs dried); Southern Foodways Alliance oral-history archive on Georgia and Alabama boiled-peanut tradition (documented salted-cooking-liquid rest technique); no probe target because doneness is a thumbnail-press test — internalTempTargetF is omitted per HR-2.