You can easily double or triple or quadruple the recipe ingredients. The longer the peanuts cook, or sit in the salty water, the saltier they will become. Also the longer the peanuts cook, the softer the shells will become. Some people prefer their peanut shells soft and almost chewy, some prefer a little firm so you can pry open the shells.
If you are making boiled peanuts for the first time, work with a small batch (like the one pound recipe that follows). If they end up too salty, use less salt the next time. If you like them softer, cook them longer. The inside nuts themselves should be completely soft. If crunchy or crisp, they need to cook longer.
Ingredients
1 pound of raw "green" peanuts (not the color green, but fresh raw peanuts which are called green peanuts)
1/4 cup kosher salt (or 2 Tbsp table salt)
4 cups water
Optional seasoning
2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning, smoked paprika, shrimp boil mix, or even star anise
Method
1 Thoroughly rinse raw unshelled peanuts in water
2 Put water, salt, seasoning, peanuts in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Cover. Boil for 2 to 3 hours or longer (some boil their peanuts all day), until peanuts reach desired level of softness
3 Drain. Eat up within a couple of days. Boiled peanuts don't save as well as dry.
