First, don't even think about using the canned garbage, and never use fully mature, grocery store peanuts. Fully mature peanuts make terrible boiled peanuts.
Get some green Valencia peanuts that were raised in sand, not dirt (there is a taste difference). Boil them in a copper pot (not stainless-again, there is a taste difference). You can add some salt to the boil if you like, or add some Cajun spices to kick it up a little.
Originally Posted by Reddy45
But if you want to make them yourself at home, it's really as simple as boiling some fresh peanuts (non-roasted, in the shell) in salted water until they are the desired texture.
No, it really is not that simple. As I stated above, mature peanuts that you buy in the grocery store make horrid boiled peanuts. Real southern boiled peanuts start with raw, green peanuts and those are generally not available in stores. They're harvested early and then kept refrigerated so they don't mature. That's what real boiled peanuts are made from.