Hawg Wild Black-Eyed Peas

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 230 min
Servings: 16
Yield: 16 servings

Description

Ring in the New Year with a bowl of black-eyed peas that have simmered with bacon, pork sausage, and tasso ham for a smokey and hearty meal. Serve with cornbread.

Ingredients

2 pounds dried black-eyed peas
1 1/2 pounds smoked pork jowl, cut into 4 pieces
1 pound tasso ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 strips bacon
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (such as RO*TEL®), drained
1 1/2 pounds smoked andouille sausage, sliced on the bias
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1 Place black-eyed peas into a large bowl and cover with several inches of cool water; soak 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.
2 Place black-eyed peas into a large pot and fill with water 1/2-inch above the peas; bring to a simmer. Add pork jowl, tasso ham, 1 chopped onion, 1 stalk celery, 2 cloves minced garlic, bay leaves, parsley, basil, and Worcestershire sauce; cook at a simmer until peas are tender, 2 to 3 hours.
3 Remove and discard pork jowl, celery stalk, and bay leaves from the pea mixture.
4 Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels, leaving 2 to 3 tablespoons bacon drippings in the skillet. Crumble bacon when cooled.
5 Cook and stir 2 cups onion, 2 cups celery, green bell pepper, and 3 cloves garlic in the hot bacon drippings over medium heat until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.
6 Mix onion mixture, tomatoes with green chiles, bacon, and andouille sausage into pea mixture. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer pea mixture until flavors have blended, 1 1/2 hours.