Mike’s Black Eyed Peas Recipe

I cook my Black Eyed Peas Recipe whenever Beryl goes out of town.

Beryl’s out of town, gone to Scotland for nine days, so I wanted to cook up a pot of something that I could eat on for a few meals.

(Unlike Beryl, I don’t mind eating the same thing 3-4 meals in a row, as long as it is something good!)

We already had spaghetti sauce and chili in the freezer, and I was really wanting something different, as well as easy to make…

Didn’t feel like jambalaya (I eat way too much of it when we have it), and neither red beans and rice or white beans was calling me.

I was looking around in the cabinet, and saw a bag of black-eyed peas. This sounded really good (and easy)…

And, black-eyed peas is not something Beryl is gonna cook, except to New Years, (because she doesn’t like them).

So, here’s how I made my black-eyed peas –

Black Eyed Peas Recipe Ingredients

1  (1-pound) bag of Camellia Black eyes
1  (10-ounce) bag of frozen seasoning blend (or a large yellow onion)
1  tablespoon of chopped garlic
A little oil – (I usually use olive oil, any kind will do)
Seasoning meat – as much as you have or want (I used smoked pork sausage and chopped ham)
Seasonings – whatever kind you like (I used salt and Tony’s and Tabasco)

How I Made My Black Eyed Peas Recipe

Rinse and soak your dry peas.

The first thing you want to do is rinse and soak you dry peas.

I do it overnight.

Pour your dry peas out of the bag into a colander and rinse them off.

(To be honest, I don’t do this… I add this touch for the ladies appeal.)

Then, pour the peas into a bowl or pot, and cover them with water.

(I use a 2-quart measuring cup.)

Let them soak overnight if you can.

(If you don’t have that much time, soak them for as long as you do have.)

If you’re gonna use sausage for your meat, slice it how you like it.

(I like to slice my sausage as thin as I can.)

Heat a little oil in your pot on a medium heat setting.

If you’re using sausage as your meat, toss it in the pot and brown it a little.

(For some reason this makes it taste a lot better.)

Then add your season blend (or onion or Cajun Trinity, whichever you’re using)

Add your chopped garlic.

Stir it around until the vegetables wilt. (I’d say 3-5 minutes)

Then, add your peas and water.

BONUS “SECRET” (I use chicken stock instead of water. It makes them so good you’ll want to eat the whole pot in one sitting.)

I added my chopped ham at this time.

(I used both sausage and ham because I had both in my freezer and didn’t have enough of either one to use all by itself.)

You want to make sure the peas and stuff are just covered with the water.

Add whatever seasonings you like (to your personal taste)

I used salt, Tony’s Creole Seasoning and about 6 drops of Tabasco sauce.

Bring your pot to a boil, reduce your heat, cover your pot, and let simmer for about 2 hours.

Stir your concoction every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t stick and burn at the bottom.

SECRET TIP –

Here’s the secret to fine black-eyed peas (also applied to red beans and white beans) –

After about an hour of simmering, smash a couple of spoonful’s of peas against the (inside) side of the pot.

Then stir your pot again.

This will thicken your gravy.

After a little while, if your gravy is not thick enough for your liking, do it again.

You may have to do it 3-4 times to get your gravy as thick as you like it.

This does work. That’s why it’s “the secret”.

By the way, YES, you can make this in a crock pot (slow cooker) if you want to.

How to Serve Mike’s Black Eyed Peas Recipe

You’ve got an awesome pot of fine eating now. Something you pretty much won’t find in restaurants.

Around here, you can only get black eyed peas at home, at the Piccadilly, or at Reeves grocery store.

Cornbread is really fine with black-eyed peas, and I always get some when I get the peas at the Piccadilly.

I was too lazy to make some this time at home.

(Remember, I’m just making these for myself, no company.)

Anyway, you can eat them as is, which is what I did…

Or, you can eat them over rice.

My plan was to have them as is for lunch, and make some rice to pour them over for supper.

As it turns out, they were so good as is, I decided to “eat light” and not make the rice.

Another interesting recipe for blackeyed peas is a dish called Hoppin’ John.

Beryl’s made Hoppin John before, and it’s real good too.

Here’s the recipe for Hoppin’ John –

https://www.cajuncookingtv.com/hoppin-john

Mike

P.S. – If you have a question or comment about this recipe
(or any other recipe) please post your question or comment
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recipe.

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Beryl’s Husband Mike

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Cajun Cooking TV features Beryl Caillouet Stokes and her grand-daughter Addison cooking up some good eating Cajun recipes from their kitchen in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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