Food and Recipes Beans Southern Black-Eyed Peas For Good Luck In The New Year 4.8 (11) 10 Reviews Good Southern black-eyed peas are absolutely worth the time. By Ann Taylor Pittman Ann Taylor Pittman For 20 years, Ann Taylor Pittman built a career of creating healthy recipes at Cooking Light magazine, where she most recently served as Executive Editor. She is the recipient of two James Beard Foundation Awards: a feature writing award and a cookbook award. She is now a freelancer specializing in recipe development, writing, and video. Follow her on Instagram. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on December 26, 2024 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Active Time: 30 mins Soak Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 6 hrs 15 mins Servings: 8 Jump to recipe Southern black-eyed peas are tender and creamy without going mushy. They are savory, with woodsy depth from bay leaves and thyme, and meaty from the little bits of ham hock. Most people prepare black-eyed peas for New Year's Day menus, but we'd argue they're worth of a spot on your menu all winter long. Deeply comforting, they can be served on their own, especially with a meaty counterpart like the ham, or as a side with pork chops and cornbread. Learn how to make classic Southern black-eyed peas. Tips From The Southern Living Test Kitchen We highly recommend a high-quality brand of dried peas. We used Camellia brand in testing; Rancho Gordo beans would be great, too. Less-expensive black-eyed peas have turned to total mush in our recipe testing experience.We think it's best to let beans or peas “settle” off the heat for 15 to 30 minutes before serving. That step isn't written into the recipe, but if you have the time to spare, we suggest it.Smoked turkey legs can be used in place of ham hocks. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas 1 Tbsp. olive oil 3 large garlic cloves, crushed 2 medium celery stalks, chopped 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 4 cups unsalted chicken stock 2 bay leaves 2 large thyme sprigs 2 smoked ham hocks (about 1 lb.) 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper Directions Soak black-eyed peas: Place peas in a large bowl; cover with cool water to 3 inches above peas. Let stand at room temperature at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Drain. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Cook aromatics until soft, then add remaining ingredients to Dutch oven: Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Add garlic, celery, and onion to pan; cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Stir in chicken stock, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, ham hocks, and drained peas; bring to a boil over high heat. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Simmer peas: Reduce heat to low or level required to maintain a simmer; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Remove ham hocks: Uncover pan and remove ham hocks to a plate. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Stir salt and pepper into peas; simmer, uncovered, until peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Shred meat from hocks: Meanwhile, when ham hocks are cool enough to handle, pick meat from hocks and finely shred (there won’t be much); discard bones, skin, and gristle. Stir meat into peas. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Rate It Print