YOU WILL NEED:

a large stock pot
raw peanuts (usually enough to fill the pot a little less than half way)
salt (one cup of it, I use sea salt, but that's just me... also you can optionally toss in an extra tablespoon of seasoned salt for a little extra flavor)
crab boil (this stuff usually comes in clever little bags so that the gold mine of spices don't end up sticking to the poor peanuts, not to say these suckers wont be messy)
crushed red pepper (these usually come in salt shaker sized jars, so get two of em)
jalapeno peppers (best to get em canned and sliced, or get the cheaper canned version and slice em yourself. Either way, get at least one can/tin or jar, but I usually use two)
1 bottle of hot sauce (this sounds vague, generally any hot sauce will do nicely. I usually go with the orange colored sauce that they have in most Mexican restaurants and random Ihops. FRANK'S® Red hot sauce is also good)

Now it probably seems like these will be too spicy to even look at. but you're dead wrong. remember, the peanuts are protected by big thick shells. so basically, they will end up catching less than half the flavor of the mixture you're about to create.

First step, clean the peanuts. I usually soak them in hot water, drain, and repeat until the drained water is no longer a dirty brown color.

Second step, fill up that stock pot about 80 percent to the top with water and start it boiling.

While the water takes its sweet time reaching the coveted boiling point, you should do this next step. I warn you, it sounds like a pain in the rear, but not only will it dramatically reduce the cooking time, it will also allow more flavor to crawl inside the peanut shells.

So step three, break the seals on all the shells. Gently squeeze them and you will hear a popping sound. Don't open them, just pop the seal. You'll find that a lot of the nuts are already slightly cracked open and don't even need their seals popped. This actually goes pretty fast if you take a handful of the peanuts and let them slide, one at a time, between your thumb and forefinger, breaking the seal and then dropping them into a bowl. Try it with two hands and its over in minutes.

Either way, that water wont be boiling when you're done.

Next step, toss all the ingredients into the water, you could do this before popping the shells, but this is just the order I've gotten used to.

Oh yeah, "all of the ingredients" means everything but the peanuts.

Once the mixture begins to boil, toss the peanuts in and cover the pot.

You'll notice they float. You wont really even be able to see the water for a while, but you should be able to make out a sizzling noise as the steam rams itself through the pile of peanuts and out the side of the lid.

After about twenty minutes, or when you are sure its boiling steadily again, turn the heat down. You're going to need to get the water simmering gently. Rolling boils are bad for business, because the mixture evaporates long before the peanuts are finished. So your goal is to find the perfect setting on your stove top... Not boiling, barely simmering, in truth you've found the right setting when the liquid looks like a muddy churning river.

My stove seems to get to this point a few notches below the "medium" setting.

This is the last step.

Now you wait. It can take anywhere from 6-12 hours. If you actually did pop the shells, then it won't take more than 8.

After about five hours, you'll want to take off the lid, make sure the liquid is churning properly, and try a peanut out. Do this every hour or so until they reach the finishing point... Which really depends on how you like them. They will get soggier and soggier with time, and while some people love them to be soggier than mashed potatoes, I prefer them to have a little bit of bite left.

Also, after about six hours the flavors will build up. So if the peanuts taste bland at five hours, don't worry at all. Just keep trying them every now and then until they taste right, and also note that they will sink when they approach the finishing line.

When they're finished, bag em up in a few Ziplocs. I like to keep a few in the freezer, as they always taste just as good weeks later, and after thawing them in the fridge.

Submitted by: Dave