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Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas with Hamhocks

My boyfriend hates black-eyed peas. I don’t blame him. Just about everywhere you go, you find the same gritty, muddy textured peas sitting in a thick, pasty gravy that ends up looking grey and unappealing. However, I love black-eyed peas — I just don’t love everybody’s. Not too many people make this dish the proper way, and the end result is usually a mushy, mealy, disrespectful version of this southern classic. If you’re tired of eating mealy, gritty black-eyed peas, grab my hand and let me take you on a journey.

This recipe is special to me. It’s one of those meals that has converted many a black-eyed pea hater from far and wide. I wasn’t gonna share this one, for years I bit my tongue. But I’m feeling generous, and quite frankly, I’d like to help save you if you’ve ever had trouble making this dish. I know it may seem corny to some, but I don’t care, I’m dedicating this recipe to my mom. She is the reason I love black-eyed peas, and these taste exactly like hers. I remember how the heavenly aroma used to drive me crazy because it would be hours before I was allowed to eat it. Dinner took so damn long as a kid. Bittersweet, but worth the wait. There’s nothing like a warm bowl full of soul.

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas with Hamhocks

Here’s the thing..

We’re using dried beans, and we’re soaking them overnight. I’m sorry if you’re too lazy for all of that, but I’m sure there are other short-cut recipes out there for you — this is for those of you who want to spend a little time and love in your kitchen. Now that we’ve got that squared away, let’s proceed. Dried beans just taste better for this recipe, and produce the silkiest, creamiest, melt-in-your-mouth results. We’re not just soaking them in water, we’re going to brine them. That means we’re adding salt to the soaking water to allow the salt to soften the skins of the beans without making the interiors gritty and mealy — which is exactly what happens when you don’t brine, but instead add the salt during the cooking process. The salt ends up softening the skins, but it penetrates the bean and alters the texture for the worse, so we’re going to prevent that by giving the beans a simple overnight brine. You can do this for any dried bean.

We’re also cooking them in the oven. Why? Because they cook more evenly. Think about it, when they’re on top of the stove, that heat source is only coming from the bottom. This is another reason why beans usually burst and give the overall dish a pasty, dry texture.The beans at the bottom of the pot are cooking at a much faster rate than the rest of the beans, and that’s not a good thing. By allowing the heat from the oven to hit every corner of the dutch oven from top to bottom, our beans cook at a more even rate and we can prevent a bean blowout. Make sense? Mkay..

Southern Black-Eyed Peas with Hamhocks

The key ingredient that gives the peas their UHMAZING flavor, is the hamhock. That’s just the bottom line. It’s a salty, fatty, sinfully delicious little bastard that exudes its wonderful salty pork flavor into the beans and makes the heart sing. Of course if you are one of those silly swine-haters (lol), you can totally leave it out. Just know you’ll have to step up your seasoning game because the hamhocks here provide us with 95% of the salt content. Because I used salted pork fat to sauté my onions with just a good additional pinch of grey sea salt, I didn’t have to add ANY additional salt to the finished dish. It was perfect.

You could use smoked turkey wings in place of the hamhocks, and you can totally skip the salted pork or bacon. This recipe is pretty straightforward, but I wanted to make sure it was easily adaptable just in case there happened to be one lone vegetarian reading my meaty blog. Oh, and instead of low-sodium chicken stock, you could use vegetable stock. I also explain how to make “stew’y” peas vs. brothy ones — you can decide which version is better suited for your tastes though.

*For this recipe you’ll need a large 6qt dutch oven, or large oven-proof heavy-bottom stockpot, a wooden spoon, and a blender or food processor — or hand-held immersion blender (which is what I used).

warm the hamhocks thru, crisp up the salted pork or bacon, remove from pot then add the onions and other spices and aromatics. cook until softened.

warm the hamhocks thru, crisp up the salted pork or bacon, remove from pot then add the onions to the leftover oil, along with the other spices and aromatics. cook until softened.

deglaze the pot with white wine, stirring until almost all of the white wine has evaporated. add the chicken stock and water, hamhocks and beans. bring to a boil, cover and place in the oven to continue cooking.

deglaze the pot with white wine, stirring until almost all of the white wine has evaporated. add the chicken stock and water, hamhocks and beans. bring to a boil, cover and place in the oven to continue cooking.

blend 2 cups of the mixture to thicken it (if you want it stew'y, if you want it thinner and more brothy, skip this step). remove as much meat as you can from the hamhocks and chop it up. throw it back into the pot along with the hamhock bones (they still have major flavor) and continue cooking the beans, uncovered in the oven for an additional 15 minutes or so.

blend 2 cups of the mixture to thicken it (if you want it stew’y, if you want it thinner and more brothy, skip this step). remove as much meat as you can from the hamhocks and chop it up. throw it back into the pot along with the hamhock bones (they still have major flavor) and continue cooking the beans, uncovered in the oven for an additional 15 minutes or so.

the finished product -- the stew'y version. tailor this to your own needs and preferences, and enjoy.

the finished product — the stew’y version. tailor this to your own needs and preferences, and enjoy.

Oh! Just in case you’re wondering, after trying my black-eyed peas, the boyfriend now loves and adores them. He spooned them into his mouth, shook his head with frustration and said, “Those are the best I’ve ever had in my life. That is exactly how they should taste, I don’t even need teeth to eat those!” and then he started cussing lol. Ahh, the simple joys of a good home cook 🙂

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Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas with Hamhocks


Description

copyright 2013 CarnalDish LLC


Ingredients

Units

For the brine:

  • 3 qts water
  • 3 tbsp coarse grey sea salt (any salt will work)

For the peas and hamhocks:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 smoked hamhocks
  • 6 oz salted pork (or bacon), chopped or sliced into chunks
  • 2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/21 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • coarse grey sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/81/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 lb dried black-eyed peas, brined overnight and rinsed well
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme

Instructions

To brine the beans:

  1. Pour the dried beans onto a plate and discard any stones or discolored peas. Stir and dissolve 3 tablespoons of coarse grey sea salt in 3 quarts of water. Add the beans and cover with plastic wrap. Brine the beans overnight at room temperature (on your kitchen counter). The next day before you’re ready to cook your beans, dump them into a colander and rinse well under cool water.

To cook the beans:

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large 6-qt dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add the salted pork or bacon and cook until some of the fat has rendered, about 4 minutes. Add the hamhocks and cook everything together until the pork has crisped, about another 10 minutes or so. When the pork has crisped up, remove it and the hamhocks from the pot and onto a plate, leaving the oil in the pot. Set aside to cool. Reduce the heat to medium.
  3. Add the diced onions to the leftover oil, and stir with a wooden spoon until the onions have picked up any flavor bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add a good pinch of the grey sea salt to the onions to help them release their liquids a bit more and soften up. Add the crushed red pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and smoked paprika to the onions, stirring until combined. Continue to cook the onions down until they’ve become translucent and have softened (be careful not to burn them, if they’re browning too quickly, lower the heat and/or add a little more oil), about 7-10 minutes. Once the onions have softened and more flavor has developed at the bottom of the pot, de-glaze with the white wine (off heat). Bring the pot back to the heat and cook until most of the wine has evaporated and you can leave trails with your wooden spoon, about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
  4. Place the hamhocks back into the pot and add the chicken broth and water. Add the beans and make sure they’re covered by the liquid. It’s up to you whether or not you want to add the salt pork or bacon back to the pot now at this point. Bring everything up to a boil, cover and place the dutch-oven into your 300 degree oven on the lower middle rack to continue cooking for 1 hour.
  5. Remove the hamhocks from the pot and place on a small plate or cutting board. Remove as much meat from each hamhock as you can, being sure not to add any of the super fatty pieces. Once you’ve extracted the meat, chop it into small bite-sized pieces and add it back to the pot. Place the bones of the hamhocks in the pot as well, and stir to combine. Cook an additional 15 minutes. Check the doneness of the peas. Once they’re creamy, smooth, and melt-in-your-mouth, they’re ready. Remove from oven.
  6. Here’s where you tailor this dish to your own black-eyed pea preference. If you like your peas more on the brothy side, you can leave them alone and skip to the last 2 steps. If you like your peas on the stewy side, remove 2 cups of the broth only, into a bowl and set aside. Ladle an additional 2 cups of the bean and broth mixture into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Add pureed beans back to the pot to give the dish a last touch of creaminess. Keep in mind this dish will thicken slightly as it cools. If you need to thin it out, use some of the reserved cooking liquid — but if they’re perfect and to your liking, discard it. Alternately, you could use the back of a spoon to mash some of the beans against the sides of the pot to give the dish more body. Give it a taste and season as necessary — although you may not have to do anything. Finish by adding a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, stirring until combined.
  7. Serve and enjoy.
  • Prep Time: 12 hours
  • Cook Time: 2 hours
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Recipe rating

  1. Kristy allen says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    I made this on New Years day and I now won’t make it any other way. I’ve never in my life had black eyed peas or ever made it. I’m not from the south, I just live in Texas. Somehow I stumbled on this recipe from 2013 and started reading the authors witty comments throughout. That’s when I said this is going to be good. I followed the recipe to a T, with a few exceptions. I used vegetables stock instead of chicken, because you shouldn’t eat chicken products on new years day. I omitted the wine since I’m doing a dry 2024 year. I used smoked sausage and bacon instead of hammocks. Used 25oz of water vs 32 oz. Let me tell you, this was absolutely delicious. So creamy, with the right amount of heat. It was so delicious I had 2 big bowls of the stuff and it was worth every minute I spent making this. Yes it takes a long time to make, but in the end it is definitely worth it. ★★★★★
  2. Jakora says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    Made this once and they were top notch and probably the best BEP ever! looking forward to making this New Year’s Day! Gotta bring that prosperity! ★★★★★
  3. Christian Hutter says:

    Best thing I ever found on the internet was this recipe. For real. First time I made them was New Year’s Eve 2020-21. Made collards alongside with Emeril Lagasse’s southern greens recipe and a baguette. Let’s just say even the kids think soul food is awesome. That time I used turkey stock I made from the Christmas turkey. I had a pound of blackeyes leftover and just made them again. But this time I made a hambone stock the night before. I skimmed the fat off the stock to cook the onions instead of using bacon and then had that for my stock as well and added a few extra bits of ham. I used the wooden spoon squish method versus the blender. I’m still arguing with myself which one was better.

  4. Rick says:

    Married guy alone while the wife and kids are out of town on New Years. Best meal I ever made was chicken nuggets once 20+ years ago. I have a hankering for black eyed peas, and this recipe (and the commentary) gives me something to do during covid and hopefully will taste as good as it sounds.

    • Rick says:

      Update – I made it exactly the way the recipe said (I could only find turkey wings and drumsticks). It is out of control. Came out perfectly. Thank you SO much!

  5. Chris says:

    My mother always made BEP on NY day and I loved them. Now I wanted to give it a shot and I came across this recipe and good lord! I followed the recipe to the “T” and they came out AMAZING! Only thing is, I need to learn to choose meatier hamhocks. The ones I bought only yielded a few pieces of edible meat, the rest was fat. I’m going to make these again real soon!

  6. Mary Elizabeth says:

    I need help. I am not sure if my pot can go in the oven. How do you bake these in that case. HELP!!

    • Chef Resha says:

      What’s your pot made of? If it’s cast iron, stainless steel, it can go in. The temperature is very low, but let me know what you’re using. Some materials are more fragile than others.

  7. Perri says:

    I have never made BEPs and my husband and I both have southern roots. He has 5 older sisters who can burn, so I always feel the pressure to keep up with them. We have a church member who makes the best BEPs in my husbandโ€™s opinion, but would never share her recipe; I respect that. I can now truthfully say I donโ€™t need hers recipe, because yours was way better than hers! My husband and I loooove this recipe!
    Thank you sooooo much for sharing this!! Maybe now I can roll with my SILs!

    Perri

  8. Laura says:

    This is the best recipe in the world. I cook everyday but every time I would try to make black eye peas they always came out mushy and sandy tasting I will be making this for sure every New Years and for family gathering meals the ham hocks were great with it pair it up with some collards and ham roast cornbread and there u have a real southern family get together. I have never written a review or given comments. But I just had to say thank u for sharing Fabulous

  9. Rania says:

    Outstanding! Iโ€™m making these again this year for our New Yearโ€™s Day party. I found your recipe a couple of years ago and made them and my friends are all still talking about them!! Perfect recipe. Thank you!

  10. Olanna says:

    OMG, I made these last weekend! I never liked black-eyed peas. Never! …Until I made this recipe! This is so tasty, it’s ridiculous! Thank you for teaching me how to make this classic soul food staple!

  11. Todd Langston says:

    Hey …im making Black eyed peas fir my best friends wedding reception ..came across this recipe..I have w lbs beans which put in brine this morning…will they be ok soaking 24 hrs ?? Or mush….the wedding is this Sunday…planned cooking tomorrow…..please help !! Thank you

  12. Kevin Farmer says:

    I haven’t even made these yet, and I will go ahead and tell you these are the best black-eyed peas I’ve ever eaten. Too many years in the restaurant business – I know a good thing when I see it.

    I’ve been scouring the internet looking for the right recipe. This is it!

    • Kevin Farmer says:

      Came back to reference the recipe because I’m making these again tomorrow, for the fourth time. These are not, per my previous comment here in 2016, “the best black-eyed peas I’ve ever eaten,” they are the ONLY black-eyed peas I’ve ever eaten. Sure, I’ve eaten some insipid grey mush purported to be black-eyed peas, but those were a lie, a lie perpetrated even by my own grandmother and mother. This recipe is the truth, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate 2021 than with the truth.

  13. Darlene franklin says:

    The bomb every time is all i can say. For those family members that swear off pork U just shit out of luck. Cause I aint using nothing else.

  14. Lindsay says:

    I’m all over the place this morning, I meant peas. You definitely have a gift girl. That lemon bundt cake of yours is next. ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. Lindsay says:

    Resha these beans are fire!!!! I did a trial run for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and I will be serving this wonderful dish to my family. Thank you!

  16. Lindsay says:

    Resha these beans for fire!!!! I did a trial run for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and I will be serving this wonderful dish to my family. Thank you!

  17. Sophia says:

    I’ve never been a fan of black-eyed peas so having them on New Year’s Day has always been a drag. I found this recipe for this year and …I actually loved them! Excellent recipe–so glad I found this! Thank you!!!

  18. Christy says:

    I’m making this again this year for our New Year’s Day party. They were a huge hit last year. I probably tripled the recipe and there was not a single drop left! Friends were swiping the bottom of the pots with bread! I have to say, using the dutch oven in the oven method makes a huge difference. I had a big pot on the stove top and one in the oven and the oven batch was creamier and just a bit different. This year I’ve borrowed an additional dutch oven so it will all be the same. I will be using this recipe for years to come!

  19. Adena says:

    My dad always swore by eating Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day. I’ve not had any since he passed a couple of years ago and decided to take it on, but had no idea how to approach them. I am so glad I was able to find this! I used leftover spiral cut ham from Christmas, so mine had quite a bit of meat in it- to the point that it was practically ham and bean stew. I gave some to my husband and he swore between every bite. I generally consider myself a pretty good cook, but nothing has ever induced this much swearing. He was still talking about them this morning.

    I have a feeling these are going to have to happen more than once a year. Thanks so much!

  20. Christy says:

    I’m in trouble now! I’ve never really cared for ham hock and beans growing up, however last year my bf said we’re making them foe NYDay. They were great! But this year he was busy fixing our plumbing so it was up to me. I googled it and came across this recipe and thought it sounded good. Man oh man oh man! This one ROCKED! We had about 20 + people so needless to say there were no leftovers, even though I made about 2.5 times the recipe. We will be enjoying it again ! Thanks for sharing! HNE!

  21. Linda says:

    Thank you so much!! I searched for a southern recipe for black eyed peas. My very picky foodie son couldn’t believe how good these were. The flavors were so exceptional!! Love!

  22. Tracy says:

    When do you add the garlic? It doesn’t say.

  23. isabella says:

    It says cayenne pepper in the ingredient list and black pepper in the instructions….which should I use?

    Thanks!

  24. mick says:

    My question is , do you eat these new years eve or new years day . My mom would make them to bring the new year luck and my little brother and I would soak them up with corn bread.

  25. Ben Wills says:

    Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaady! Let me tell you something…THANK YOU! ha, this was my first time (and of course there were the pressures if it being like my Grams’). IT WAS GREAT! Just as I remembered it. To validate I didnt screw up, two southern guys confirmed it was good. You know how you cook something for yourself, UNLESS its disgusting its good. hahaa.

    Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. P town says:

    Outstanding recipe. I tweeked a little. I used a smoked ham shank along with diced kielbasa. I also added some chopped fresh spinach which added some nice color. This became an instant family favorite.

  27. Tamika Buxton says:

    I have been making black eyed peas for years and wanted to try something different. I couldn’t put them in the oven because my oven is broken and my new one won’t be installed until tomorrow. However, I received an electric pressure cooker for Christmas and wanted to try it out. It was my first time cooking with pressure so I made a few errors, but even with the fact that I cooked it a little too long, it still came out great… Better than great, AMAZING! I used turkey bacon and a smoked turkey wing instead of the pork.

    Also, I came across your recipe after my beans had soaked for 12 hours, but I simply rinsed them and soaked them in the brine for an additional few hours.

    This is my new “go to” recipe for Black Eyed Peas!

  28. marieTnLBC says:

    wow, were these absofreekinlutely deeeeelicious! just superb. the only thing i did differently was a full teaspoon of smoked paprika and that was a mistake. (thankfully it didnt make a negative impact.) my husband who was skeptical (he had never eaten BEPs before! imagine! ) loved them ladleing serving after serving on his plate. he kept saying ‘oh, my….mmm…oh my’. outstanding recipe, darlin! u done helped us bring in 2014 just right!!

  29. Annie says:

    I don’t own a Dutch oven. What are your thoughts/feelings on making these in the crockpot? I’ll be at work while they cook.

  30. […] Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas with Hamhocks from Carnal Dish […]

  31. Shaundra says:

    I made the peas this weekend and I have to say they were the best I ever made hands down. I won’t lie, it was more time consuming for the prep and taking the meat off the hamhocks but I kept thinking “I am making these with love” so it didn’t seem as bad. Once the peas were done I did not have to add any more seasonings, they were on point. Most times I make a recipe I usually have to alter the seasonings but not with this! My family enjoyed them and I enjoyed making them. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!

  32. Shonda says:

    As I was waiting for the page to load I said “I hope she put those damn black eyed peas up!” Thank you! Making this weekend…