Black-Eyed Peas Like Maw Maw's

cajunhippiegirl's Note:

Good ole Southern Cooking at it's best. I looked forward to these every summer when the fresh black eyed peas were plentiful. Maw Maw would get them by the bushel, we'd sit out back under the big old oaks in the afternoon, enjoy the breeze & shell peas. Once she cooked them up, you knew it was worth all the effort. Add some cornbread & sliced home grown tomatoes and you didn't need anything else. Fresh Frozen Black Eyed Peas come close. They taste much fresher than dried peas, and taste like summer even in the winter.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 1.0 Pot

• 16 ounces frozen black-eyed peas
• 1 ham hock
• 1 tablespoon bacon grease
• salt (be careful Ham is salty)
• black pepper
• water, to cover and bring all to a boil

Directions:

1. Based on the amount of Peas you are cooking, add water to Pot.
2. Start to bring to a boil.
3. Take Ham Hock and score skin side if needed and add to pot.
4. Boil Ham Hock for about 20 minutes to season water, add Bacon Grease & stir until melted.
5. Add Peas.
6. Boil at a rapid boil for the first 20 minutes, then turn down to a low boil and cover pot. Continue cooking until Peas are getting soft.
7. Take a taste.
8. Season with Salt & Pepper to your taste.

Reviews

[breezermom]

This is the way my Grandma taught me to cook black eyed peas, but she told me to put in bacon slices and a ham bone instead of ham hocks. I made this exactly as directed, except I used a sliced ham hock because I halved the recipe. The recipe was delicious, but it was very salty, even without adding any salt to the peas. I added a potato to cut the salty taste and it was good. I give this recipe 5 stars with the condition that you add some potato to suck up some of the saltiness in the ham hock. Otherwise, this recipe is just too salty tasting. Made for Spring PAC 2009.