9/03/13

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas

A slow-cooked recipe for traditional Southern black-eyed peas with ham hocks (or ham bone) and dried peas.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
  2. RICE DISHES OFTEN SERVED WITH BLACK-EYED PEAS

There are a few ways to cook black-eyed peas. You can start with frozen or canned peas then just cook them until very tender or you can start with dried peas.

Both ways are good but when you slow-cook dried black-eyed peas you get something that’s extra special. The peas create sort of a saucy gravy that makes them so perfect to serve over rice or with traditional southern rice main dishes (I’ll list some below).

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas! A slow-cooked recipe for traditional Southern black-eyed peas with ham hocks (or ham bone) and dried peas.

Any time I talk about peas, I always feel compelled to tell people that here in the South, we adore our peas (crowder peas, pink lady peas, field peas, black-eyed peas, purple hull peas and dozens of others) and don’t really mess much with those round, green English peas. 

Our peas are more legume-like; they’re creamy instead of squishy. They are often the star of the show, especially in the summertime. A big plate with white rice, slow-cooked creamy peas, fresh sliced garden tomatoes and homemade biscuits is considered a feast. And my mouth is watering thinking about it.

I spent the first 20 years of my life thinking I hated meatloaf because Mama (not a native Southerner) would serve those horrible, murky, tiny canned English peas when she made meatloaf and mashed potatoes (and made me clean my plate) so I just hated it all. Thinking about them still makes me shudder. 

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas! A slow-cooked recipe for traditional Southern black-eyed peas with ham hocks (or ham bone) and dried peas.

SOUTHERN RICE DISHES OFTEN SERVED WITH BLACK-EYED PEAS

Country-Style Ribs & Rice - An old-school Southern recipe made with rice cooked in a rich stock made from slowly cooked country-style pork ribs. 

Carolina Chicken Bog - A one-pot recipe of rice, chicken and smoked sausage cooked in a flavorful stock made from slow-cooked chicken. 

Charleston Red Rice - A Lowcountry recipe popular from Charleston to Savannah, made from rice cooked with bacon and a tomato broth seasoned with peppers and onions. 

Neck Bones & Rice - A rustic Southern recipe of rice cooked in the savory stock from slowly simmered  pork neck bones. 

Bojangles Dirty Rice - A copycat recipe for Bojangles iconic Cajun dirty rice, made with sausage and a favorite throughout Southern states, especially the Carolinas! 

Recipe for Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas
Yield: 15-16 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 5 HourTotal time: 5 H & 10 M
A slow-cooked recipe for traditional Southern black-eyed peas with ham hocks (or ham bone) and dried peas.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 2 ham hocks or ham bone
  • 1-2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, sauté onion in butter until onion is translucent and tender. Add 4 cups water, ham hocks, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and peas to pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove ham hocks and trim off ham; discarding bones, cartilage and skin. Add ham pieces back to peas and stir. Add more salt to taste then simmer peas on low for one additional hour. If you have more liquid than you’d like, simmer on medium heat, uncovered, until liquid has reduced to your liking.
  3. I usually serve mine over white rice with some fresh diced onion sprinkled on top but you can serve them on their own as well.

Notes

If you don't have ham hocks or other smoked meat/trimmings you can cook the peas with 1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke or 2-3 large cubes of ham bullion.

southern, peas, dried beans, recipe, black, eye, black-eyed, eyed, blackeyed, traditional, best, authentic, classic,
vegetable, side dish
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59 comments:

  1. I cook mine in the crock pot.. that's the only way I will have them... very good.

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    Replies
    1. How long did you cook the peas?

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    2. The recipe says,coverand simmer,medium low heat 4 hours...

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    3. How long in the slow cooker

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  2. I stumbled upon you looking for what sides go well with pork chops and gravy (because who doesn't braise pork chops in gravy for four hours after work, in September, in the south when it's 90 degrees? Turn up the a/c and hush.) I know steak, rice and gravy (and if I forget the petit pois God help me (only Dubon in this house). But pork chops always give me pause. My momma served them with sauerkraut, apple sauce and mashed potatoes but then again, she didn't serve gravy. I don't think I've ever forgiven her for that. I drink gravy with a straw (thus the 30 pound weight gain during menopause. You can NOT eat like you still have a metabolism). I digress. I have 3 potatoes but no milk but I'll make the mashed anyway and go with the applesauce. Thanks for hearing "us" out and I'll definitely be back. (The colon comment made me laugh out loud - thanks!)

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  3. Is that sliced bacon in the picture?

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    Replies
    1. What about using actual diced ham? Would that work? :/

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    2. I absolutely loved this recipe, peas came out perfect, I used the smoke Turkey necks

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    3. They are delicious woth bacon added also:)

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  4. Glad to know other southern girls eat rice under peas. We grew up having rice with nearly every pea or bean known to man. My husband wasn't from rice country so I had to teach him all about peas and rice.

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    1. True, I know it’s from 2013, but just found this recipe and you comment. I don’t live in the south anymore but nobody understands rice everyday or peas over rice. Was just discussing this at Christmas with friends from Minnesota. They are potato people.

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  5. Just found this recipe and will definitely try it. I love trying new bean recipes and this sounds good. From another type of southern girl - from the southern hemisphere (New Zealand) :)

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  6. To be such a simple recipe, these peas had the best flavor I have tasted in a long time. Great job!

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  7. Northern girls do black eyed peas and rice too. My husband loves them even more than I do, and we're both born and bred in the Pacific Northwet. Yeah, I leave the 's' out on purpose. Been a long winter.

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  8. I've only eaten red beans and rice. My Arkansas momma and her relatives always cooked up a big cast iron skillet of corn bread. Break that up and spoon the peas over the corn bread... good lord, there is nothing better!
    But always leave some corn bread to break up in our milk too!

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    1. Your Mother sounds like she from my part of Arkansas

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    2. Absolutely I'm from Arkansas

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  9. Brined the peas instead of soaking in plain water (1.5 tablespoons of salt, 8 cups of water), and used two very small smoked turkey legs instead of ham hocks. Peas were the best ever--thanks for such a superb but simple recipe.

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  10. Sounds delicious. I'm definitely going to try it.

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  11. Black-eyed or crowder (field) peas -- they are all fine with me.

    Can you imagine having a father from Mississippi and a mother from Denmark - what a blend of cuisine we had!

    No skinny kids in the family...

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  12. This is a great recipe--much simpler than another that I tried and far superior! I brined the peas instead of soaking them in plain water, and used a smoked turkey wing instead of a ham hock. They were perfectly creamy and delicious. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

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  13. You cook like my mama cooked. Simple, simple. Not a lot of fancy stuff. I cook my peas in chicken broth instead of water. Taste really scrumptious.

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  14. Can I use bacon instead of ham hocks?

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  15. I use smoked turkey tails. The flavor iis delish!

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  16. Will frozen peas compromise this recipe if used?

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  17. This the only way I have ever made these. This is old school southern cooking. It has been handed down from generation to generation. In my opinion, this is the only way to cook blackeyed peas!! 😁

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  18. The instructions say to cook the black eyed peas for 4 hours, is that time correct?

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    Replies
    1. Actually it says 4 hours, trim the ham, and cook an additional hour. For a total of 5 hours.

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  19. Surely you don't cook these for 5 hours !!!!????

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  20. I recently found your site and I love it. Your husband reminds me of my husband. My husband is from England and I am still working on teaching him to eat Southern. I am from North Carolina and I tend to cook a lot of things like you do or at least about the same way.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you found your way here.. it's good to have someone around who understands life at my kitchen table!

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    2. I really understand....I grew up on this great food and love it.

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  21. Do frozen peas cook faster?

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  22. I add about 1/4 cup sugar

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  23. My son and your husband could be food twins. Anthony loves corn, potatoes, and salad but likes broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots raw. He will eat black eyed peas and beans He's not a fan of most other veggies, especially cabbage, okra, and other "mushy" vegetables. I pinned this and will make it soon. I've never added butter to my peas.

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  24. My mom and daddy used to cook cast iron skillet cornbread on our wood stove and and crumble it up in a tall glass of buttermilk and top it off with a little salt n pepper. I loved it and I was only about 5 years old.��

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  25. I'm new to cooking but I live in the south born and raised, can I use frozen black eyed peas n the hambone is frozen... How long do I cook these do I need to let the hambone thaw out a little or what sorry if this is a stupid question first time making them.

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    1. Yes to all! You will only need to cook about 2 hours on low. Add just enough water to cover peas.

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  26. Would 4-5 hours in the crockpot work? Says 8-9 but sounds like,a lot.

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  27. My peas look like they will be mush in 5 hours. Should I cut the cook time to 3 hours remove the ham bone and then cook for an additional hour for a total of 4 hours?

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  28. Love your recipes and that you answer questions! (some authors do not) The peas sound great and I'll make them as written on New Years Day for my TX husband.

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  29. This is an awesome recipe! Both the men in my house had seconds. I will be making this again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  30. I love how these taste, but for some reason mine cook in 2 hours instead of 4. All liquid gets absorbed. The first time I made them I left the house for four hours and they burned. But anyway, very tasty!

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  31. Any tips on how to make these work canned beans? I used dry last year and loved this recipe, but our supermarket only had canned this year

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    1. Canned peas are great too but they're already cooked. I'd cook the ham hock down separately then add the meat to the peas and cook on low for about 30-45 minutes.

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  32. So this is typically served over rice rather than as a soup. Plain white rice like your perfect rice recipe?
    Thanks

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    1. It's typically just served as-is, though many folks eat peas and beans cooked like these over rice.

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  33. Now don't laugh, but I like to add some fresh or frozen whole okra pods on top of my peas and continue to cook the peas with the okra on top for about 20 minutes. It steams the pods. I do not stir the okra into the peas, or the pods will break apart. Just a little trick I learned eons ago from a friend of mine. The frozen okra pods you don't have to do anything to, just put them in. The fresh okra pods, well naturally you wash them and lightly trim the top of the stem. Do not cut the top off, or the pods will get that slimy texture some don't like. Try this, you just might like it, that is if you like okra.

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    Replies
    1. Laugh?? Girl, that sounds delicious! And what a brilliant idea?!

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  34. Can the leftovers be frozen? Only two of us, so lots left. Enjoyed reading your narrative as well as the recipe.

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  35. Can you cook it in the crock pot on high?? It’s been in for about 5 hours on low and it’s NOT done

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy