Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas

Hello friends and Happy New Year!  It’s the last foodie holiday of the season and I’m so excited to share my recipe for Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas. There are many different “good luck” traditions all over the globe for New Year’s Day…  And in the Southern United States, it’s black-eyed peas.  Legend has it that eating these on January 1^st will bring you good luck throughout the year.  True or not, it’s a fun (and delicious) tradition that I picked up from my boyfriend’s family, who are from Arkansas and Texas.  I had eaten these as a part of his traditional holiday fare and decided to create my own recipe when I lived in the South a few years ago.  Although these are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day, they are great any time of the year!

This super easy recipe is savory, comforting, and very traditional – The epitome of country home cooking.  I soak dried black-eyed peas in water overnight to soften them and then cook them low and slow on the stovetop with onion, garlic, celery, and spices.  I add in a smoked ham hock along with some diced ham and let everything cook for a few hours.  The peas get soft and all of the flavors meld together to create the most delicious mixture – It’s kind of like soup but thicker. Served alongside a roast, ham, or chicken; or as a main dish with a side of collard greens and corn bread or a biscuit; it’s the perfect way to ring in the new year! 

Eat well and enjoy!

Why Soak the Black-Eyed Peas?

Soaking the black-eyed peas has a few benefits.  It softens them, giving them a creamier texture, and making it so they don’t take quite as long to cook.  Soaking beans can also make them easier to digest.  To soak beans, place them in a bowl and cover with cool water.  Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave on your counter overnight.  In the morning, you’ll want to drain the beans, rinse with cool water, and sort through them for any pebbles or debris. 

Slow Cooker Variation

If you don’t want to heat up your stove or need that extra burner for something else, this recipe works great in the slow cooker!  Just add the black-eyed peas, diced veggies (no need to pre-cook!), spices, smoked ham bone, a dollop of bacon fat if you have it, and ham to the slow cooker.  Cover with enough broth to cover everything, cover with the lid, and cook on HIGH for about 5 to 7 hours, or until the beans are soft.  You’ll want to check the slow cooker occasionally to make sure not too much liquid has cooked out.  If the mixture starts to look dry, add more liquid as needed. 

Ingredient Details

• Bacon Fat –Bacon fat is very traditional, old school, and lends itself well to this recipe because it contains smoked pork.  However, any type of fat or sauté oil would work perfectly fine. 

• Onion, Celery, and Garlic – These are such simple ingredients but lend so much flavor.  Use fresh if you can and don’t skip sauteing them first – this will caramelize them just a bit and help mellow any sharpness.     

• Dried Black-Eyed Peas – You should be able to find dried black-eyed peas in the dried beans section of your grocery store. You could also use fresh or frozen black-eyed peas in place of the dried – If you do, you’ll want to double the amount of peas and skip the soaking step.  If using frozen, make sure you thaw them before using. 

• Chicken Broth – I usually use low sodium chicken broth or stock for this.  If you don’t use low sodium, I would cut the amount of salt used in the recipe by half to start and add more at the end if needed. 

• Canned Tomatoes – I like to use Rotel Canned tomatoes with Green Chiles or with Habaneros.  Both are great!  The green chile version will be mild and the habanero version will be on the spicier side. 

• Chile Powder, Thyme, Bay leaves – These pantry staples add so much flavor!  There is not enough chile powder to add much heat so it will still work for people with low spice tolerance.  For the thyme, I use dried leaves; but ground thyme would work too! 

• Salt – I tend to be a little conservative with the salt at the beginning because there are other salty ingredients being added into this recipe.  You’ll want to taste the beans just before serving and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

• Smoked Ham Hock, Ham Shank, or Pork Neck Bone – Any of these will work!  A ham hock is the knuckle and is generally less meaty, whereas the ham shank is a part of the leg and is generally meatier.  A pork neck bone is kind of in between.  You should be able to find these in the ham, bacon, or pork section of your grocery store, or at your local butcher.  Whichever one you choose, you’ll want to make sure they are smoked.  However, if you can’t find smoked, you can add a few dashes of liquid smoke to the pot for a similar flavor.           

• Ham – I use pre-chopped, packaged ham for this recipe.  This can usually be found in the same section as whole hams in the grocery store.  If you can’t find pre-chopped, you could also chop up a ham steak or thick-cut ham luncheon meat.