Black-eyed peas have been a tradition in our home as long as I can remember. My mother was from Oklahoma, but I was born and raised in Southern California. Her Southern ways permeated my existence though. I can’t thank her enough.
Using bacon, ham hocks or other meat to season black-eyed peas is also the tradition.
However, I have never used meat in my black-eyed peas. Instead, I add hickory flavor with liquid hickory flavor or smoked hickory salt.
These were really easy to put together. I used fresh peas which it seems I can only buy 2 weeks out of the year. Most canned versions have other ingredients other than peas. If I cannot get fresh, I will look for frozen.
Be aware, frozen takes longer than fresh by about 15 minutes.
If you go the dry pea route, soak for about two hours and expect to cook them 3 to 5 hours.
I used a crock pot so I could put the dish together, let it cook and then stay warm for my guests.
New Years Blackeyed Peas
Equipment
- Crock Pot Needs Low, medium and high.
Ingredients
- 3 Pints Fresh blackeyed peas
- 1 Medium Sweet onion like Vidalia
- 1/2 Green Bell Pepper I freeze rings and use what I need, In this case 3 rings.
- 1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1/2 Tsp Smoked hickory salt I use San Francisco Salt Company salt
- 15 Oz Diced tomatoes (with juice) I use Jovial organic. If you use fresh tomatoes, add 1 tbsp tomato purée or concentrate to the cooking liquid.
- 32 Oz Low Sodium No Chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 Cup Green Beans
Instructions
- Rinse peas and place in crock pot
- Peel and dice onion. Mince garlic. Add to crock pot.
- Add tomatoes, hickory salt, seasonings, bay leaf and broth to crock pot.
- Add water as needed to cover the vegetables.
- Set crock pot to high. Turn to medium heat once peas come to a boil.
- Peas are done when no longer al dente.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe.
Feel free to use an Anaheim or Hatch chili instead of the bell pepper. Experiment with different peppers to determine what you like. Even pickled peppers like Jalapeño or pepperoncini work well here.
I normally cook my peas on the stove top. They take much less time that way but require a frequent watch to ensure they don't stick or burn. You may continually need to add water if the level goes below the beans.
A crock pot was selected for this so the beans would cook and stay heated during my New Year's Day dinner.
These were served with a baked Kale casserole and sweet potatoes.
