Today my husband brought home black eye peas. Perfect opportunity to share a recipe with you!
Anytime you cook with dried beans, you need to sift through them and remove any bits of debris, pebbles, or bad beans.
Rinse the peas well, then soak them in hot water while preparing the bacon and onions.
Most things in my kitchen start with bacon and onions. I use this bacon for a base. I buy (or we smoke our own) nice bacon to simply eat. But this is a pack of “ends & pieces” which still tastes good, it’s just not pretty to look at.
I’m cutting it up and using it to sauté my onions and sausage, so looks are unimportant to me here.
After the bacon is browned, add a diced onion.
Sauté the onions until translucent.
Meanwhile, add chicken base to your soaking peas.
I will add water after this. If you don’t have chicken base, then simply use chicken broth or stock to add liquid once they go into the pot.
I am using the sauté setting on my Instant Pot. You can do this on the stovetop or in a crockpot after you prep in a saucepan.
I’m happy with the softness of the onion, so I will now add my soaked peas.
Now here is something I’m quite excited about!
My entire family has always been involved in cooking. My middle son is in college and has come out with his own Cajun seasoning.
It’s exactly the flavor profile we love, the spice blend he’s grown up to love.
It’s not too much heat, not too much pepper, just a great balance of flavors.
I wish I had an amount, but I just sprinkle some in. Then add more later if needed.
https://shortroundseasoning.com/
Now remember that we have already used bacon and chicken broth, so be careful of using too much more salt.
Now I will cover with water and let them cook for a while.
I’m going to put them through a 30 minute “soup“ setting and then check to see where we are.
I like my Instant Pot because I can go to the barn and leave it unattended.
You could also slow boil on the stovetop for an hour or 2, taking care to stir occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning and checking to make sure your liquid doesn’t boil out.
I have set out my sausage to thaw. We keep a freezer full. We tend to use either homemade or Cooper’s Country Pleasin’. I prefer to add the smoked sausage later, after the peas have cooked. The sausage is already smoked, so you can easily overcook it and cause the texture to be off.
Time to add the sausage. I like it thin, my husband likes it in chunks, so I do both.
After adding in the sausage and a good heaping tablespoon of minced garlic, I run it through a 15 minute soup cycle. I added a little more water just because I like mine more soup consistency.
You can serve over rice and with a side of cornbread. There is a great cornbread recipe here on my blog if you search for it.
Happy eating!!!
Dr Vet Sonya 