Nothing says “I’m glad baseball season is here” like a good hot batch of cajun boiled peanuts fresh out of the pot. I grew up eating the stuff. Everytime my dad and I would go to the Florida Gators football games, along the way there’d be cajun boiled peanut stands about every 5 miles leading towards the stadium. We’d always stopped at this one vendor that was reputed to having the hottest, tastiest, and plumpest cajun peanuts you could buy. And trust me, they were hot. One day I asked the guy for the recipe, and he was reluctant, but a few crisp 20 dollar bills, and a bowl of my world famous chili (well, I’m working on the world part), and he gave in. So here’s the goods:

  • 2 lbs. green peanuts
  • 3 tbs. chili powder
  • 3 fresh jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (chopped)
  • 5 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)
  • 1 large yellow onion (quartered)
  • 1 tbs. cumin
  • 1 package Zatarain’s crab & shrimp boil
  • 1 1/2 cup crushed red pepper flakes

Throw everything in a large pot (or Dutch oven), fill it up with water until everything floats, put on the stove on high until it boils, then bring it down to medium heat so it gets to a soft rolling boil. Stir every two hours. Cook for a minimum of 24 hours. Add water as needed to keep peanuts under water. Enjoy with an iced cold lime tequila with the rims salted and a fire extinguisher nearby, just in case. You can substitute jalapeno peppers with cayenne peppers if you don’t want it too hot. But then, that wouldn’t be a true cajun boiled peanut. ;)

Obligatory picture below, click to enlarge (928kb):