Black Eyed Peas Recipe

Close up photo of cooked black-eyed peas topped with chopped green onions as a garnish

5 from 2 votes

My Southern-style black-eyed pea recipe below has a savory, smoky flavor infused through ham hocks or smoked turkey, paired with aromatic vegetables and simple bold seasonings.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2 30

Total Time3

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings:

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Ebony Robinson

Ingredients

16 oz Black Eyed Peas fresh or soaked for 8 hours
2 Ham Hocks you may substitute with smoked neck bones or another smoked meat
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/3 cup Onion finely chopped
3 dashes Liquid Hickory Smoke
2 tablespoon Butter
Water
Salt & Pepper to Taste
3 stalks Green Onion (Optional Garnish) diced

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Instructions

To a pot, add 2 ham hocks. Fill the pot with enough water to just barely cover the top of the ham hocks. Place on the oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder. Allow ingredients to simmer to form a smoky broth for about 30 minutes. Do not allow broth to boil.
As broth comes up to simmer, take a separate small sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat, and sauté 1/3 cup of finely diced onion until soft. Turn off heat and set sautéd onions aside.
After 30 minutes of broth simmering, add 16 oz of fresh black-eyed peas or dried black eyed peas that have soaked overnight. Do not add dried black-eyed peas straight from the bag that have not been cleaned and soaked. Pour cleaned black eyed peas into broth, add onion butter mixture, 3 dashes of liquid hickory smoke and allow black eyed peas to slowly cook over low medium heat for 2 - 3 hours. Cover pot with lid.
I recommend stirring, adding salt halfway and towards the end of the cooking process to ensure you do not over-salt the black-eyed peas. The sodium within the smoked meat will already add a salt-like flavor. Allowing peas to simmer low and slow will also allow them to thicken on their own to form a gravy like texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. Garnish with chopped green onions and enjoy!

Notes

Dried peas: Sort, rinse, and soak dried black-eyed peas for about 8 hours or overnight before cooking. Drain and rinse again before adding them to the pot.
Fresh peas: Fresh black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked; simply sort and rinse them before cooking.
Smoked meat: Smoked neck bones or smoked turkey can be substituted for the ham hocks.
Salt carefully: Wait until the peas have cooked for a while before adding salt. Smoked meat can add quite a bit of salt to the broth.
Keep it low and slow: Maintain a gentle simmer rather than a rapid boil for tender, creamy peas.
Adjust the liquid: If the broth gets too low before the peas are tender, add a little more water as needed.
For a thicker broth: Allow the peas to continue simmering until some begin to soften and naturally thicken the cooking liquid. No additional thickener is needed.

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