Lisa's Seriously Good Black Eyed Peas
Southern style black eyed peas with a spicy kick. Great with cornbread or hot buttered rice, even in fresh flour tortillas with carnitas!
Southern style black eyed peas with a spicy kick. Great with cornbread or hot buttered rice, even in fresh flour tortillas with carnitas!
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 cups water
- ground cayenne pepper to taste
- 24 ounces fresh black eyed peas can be dried, but soak overnight
- 10 each thick cut bacon slices
- 15 slices sliced fresh or pickled jalapeã±o i use 15 slices pickled
- 1 tsp course ground black pepper
- ground chipotle pepper to taste
- 1 small white onion, in thick wedges
- 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and sliced in half
- Carbohydrate 17.2917175422675 g
- Cholesterol 32.13 mg
- Fat 21.3837177777543 g
- Fiber 3.08591515732696 g
- Protein 11.0550533973569 g
- Saturated Fat 7.10516444443738 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (496g)
- Sodium 1255.43332778815 mg
- Sugar 14.2058023849406 g
- Trans Fat 2.36721819444343 g
- Calories 304 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook bacon slices in microwave until nice and crisp. Let cool, then crumble and set aside.
- In medium stock pot, add the peas and water and bring to a brief boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the salt, pepper, onion, garlic, bacon, cayenne, jalapeños and chipotle and let it all simmer uncovered until the peas are your preferred texture (some like mushy, others like a little firm). I cooked my peas at a high simmer for one hour and forty-five minutes and they were perfect for me -- just slightly firm.
- Add water 1/2 cup at a time if it looks like too much liquid is cooking off.
- When ready, serve over hot buttered rice for "Hoppin' John" or with cornbread and butter. Great with an ice cold beer. Yum!!
Simmering Duration and Water Regulation
Monitoring the liquid level every twenty minutes prevents scorching during the extended simmering phase. Maintain a gentle bubble rather than a rolling boil to keep the legume skins intact while starches gelatinize internally. Add moisture in half-cup increments only when the liquid level drops below the top of the legumes, ensuring consistent heat transfer across the one-hour-and-forty-five-minute cooking window.Adapting Fats for Dietary Needs
Rendering animal fat supplies both cooking medium and distinct umami compounds that shape the broth profile. Substitute smoked turkey wings or a plant-based smoked mushroom fat at a one-to-one ratio by weight when avoiding pork products. Retaining the capsaicin from fresh or pickled jalapeos compensates for the specific flavor depth lost when removing cured meats.Achieving Desired Textural Softness
Cellulose breakdown dictates the final mouthfeel of any dried or fresh legume cooked in an acidic or salted environment. Prolonged simmering allows pectin molecules within the cell walls to dissolve fully, yielding a creamy interior. Testing a single specimen against the side of the pot at the ninety-minute mark reveals whether the interior starch has reached uniform softness.
