Classic New Years Black-Eyed Peas (Print)

Tender peas with smoked pork, vegetables, and Creole spices for New Years luck.

# Ingredients:

→ Legumes

01 - 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and sorted

→ Smoked Meat

02 - 1½ pounds smoked pork neck bones or smoked ham hocks

→ Aromatics

03 - 1 large onion, finely chopped
04 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 celery stalk, diced
06 - 1 green bell pepper, diced

→ Liquids

07 - 7 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth

→ Spices & Seasonings

08 - 1½ teaspoons Creole seasoning or Cajun seasoning
09 - 1 bay leaf
10 - ½ teaspoon dried thyme
11 - ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
12 - ½ teaspoon black pepper
13 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

→ Optional Garnish

14 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
15 - Hot sauce for serving

# Instructions:

01 - Cover black-eyed peas with water in a large bowl and soak overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly before using. Alternatively, cover peas with boiling water, let sit for 1 hour, then drain.
02 - In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat a splash of oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
03 - Add minced garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Stir in smoked pork neck bones, drained black-eyed peas, water or broth, Creole seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, smoked paprika, and black pepper.
05 - Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender and pork is falling off the bone.
06 - Remove pork neck bones from pot. Shred any meat from the bones and return to pot. Discard bones and excess fat.
07 - Season with salt to taste. Remove bay leaf.
08 - Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley and hot sauce if desired. Serve over rice or with cornbread.

# Pro Tips:

01 -
  • One pot, minimal fuss, and somehow tastes like you've been cooking all day.
  • The pork neck bones do all the heavy lifting—your job is just to let time work its magic.
  • Naturally gluten-free and packed with protein, so it feels wholesome without tasting virtuous.
  • Freezes beautifully, which means you can make luck in bulk and save it for hungry days ahead.
02 -
  • Don't skip the soak, even the quick version—unsoaked peas can stay hard in the center no matter how long you cook them, and there's nothing worse than biting into a grainy pea at the end.
  • Smoked pork needs time to release its flavor, so resisting the urge to rush this dish will reward you; the longer it simmers, the deeper the taste becomes.
  • Salt at the very end, not at the beginning—salt can toughen the peas if added too early, so trust yourself to season once everything is already soft.
03 -
  • If your peas seem stubborn after an hour of cooking, they might need more time—older dried peas take longer, so don't panic; just keep the heat low and check back in twenty minutes.
  • The rendered fat from the pork is liquid gold for cooking rice the next day, so don't throw it away—it's flavor waiting to happen.
  • Serve this over rice rather than alone, and suddenly you've got a complete meal that feels way more substantial than the sum of its parts.
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