Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black eyed peas, picked through and rinsed
- 2 ham hocks (or 1 ham bone or 1 smoked turkey leg)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 cups water
- 1 medium onion, diced (~1 cup)
- 2/3 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 jalapeño, seeds removed and minced (optional)
- 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning (optional)
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Soak the Peas (Optional but Worth It)
Put your black eyed peas in a large bowl and cover with water by at least an inch. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 8 hours or overnight.
This softens them up and cuts the cooking time, but you can skip it if you’re in a hurry – just add ~30 minutes to the cooking time.
Drain and rinse before using.
Get the Smoked Meat Going
To a large pot add the ham hocks, chicken broth, and water.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat – you want gentle bubbles, not a rolling boil.
Cover and simmer for ~45 minutes to 1 hour. The liquid will turn slightly brown and smell amazing – that’s all the smoke and collagen pulling out of the hocks.
Add Everything and Let It Cook
After the meat has simmered, add:
- Black eyed peas (drained if you soaked them)
- Diced onion
- Garlic powder
- Jalapeño and cajun seasoning if using
Stir everything together and bring back to a simmer.
Cover and cook for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. The peas should be creamy inside but still hold their shape.
Test by pressing a pea against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon – it should mash easily. If not, keep going another ~15-30 minutes.
Thicken It Up (Optional)
You’ll have lots of liquid at this point – that’s the pot likker and it’s liquid gold.
If you want it thicker, scoop out about a cup of peas and mash them with a fork until you have a paste. Stir this back into the pot.
This is what my grandmother always did – it makes everything creamy without losing that broth.
Pull the Meat and Season
Fish out the ham hocks – they’ll be falling apart by now.
Pull all the meat off the bones (watch for small bones), shred it up, and add it back to the pot. Toss the bones.
Taste and add salt and pepper until it’s right. Start with ~1 tsp salt and adjust from there – the ham hocks add salt so you might not need much.
Serve hot with cornbread to soak up all that pot likker.
My Grandma’s Black Eyed Peas
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black eyed peas picked through and rinsed
- 2 ham hocks or 1 ham bone or 1 smoked turkey leg
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 cups water
- 1 medium onion diced (~1 cup)
- 2/3 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 jalapeño seeds removed and minced (optional)
- 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning optional
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak black eyed peas in water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
- Add ham hocks, chicken broth, and water to large pot. Simmer covered 45-60 minutes until broth browns.
- Add drained peas, diced onion, garlic powder, jalapeño, and cajun seasoning. Return to simmer.
- Cover and cook 1 hour 15 minutes until peas are creamy but hold shape.
- Optional: Mash 1 cup peas and stir back in to thicken.
- Remove ham hocks, shred meat, discard bones. Return meat to pot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot with cornbread.
