Smoky Brisket Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

By theadmin

On New Year’s Day morning, as the old year yields to the new, we shed layers of ourselves to welcome renewed energy and resolutions. However, one thing that remains deeply anchored in American — and especially Southern — tradition is eating black-eyed peas to usher in abundance, health, and good luck.

In some households, the celebratory food spread includes collard greens, and the black-eyed peas may be cooked with rice (as in the Gullah Geechee community of the Carolinas, from which hopping John originated) and salt pork. Why these joyous but superstitious traditions?

The foodways that bring black-eyed peas to the New Year’s table represent themselves, a threshold, or at least a convergence of customs. Adrian Miller, the James Beard Award-winning author of “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” and “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue,” sees a black-eyed pea New Year’s dish as a continent- and time-spanning recipe: “one part European superstition, one part West African culinary memory, one part cultural exchange.” Add the antebellum South, and let simmer.

As for us, in Texas, nothing may be more wonderful than a stewy pot of black-eyed peas that’s amped up with the low rumble of red pepper flakes and the smoky temptation of brisket.

Serves 12

Ingredients

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1 small onion, diced
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tablespoon bacon fat or butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces smoked brisket, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
Salt, to taste

Method

Step 1

Rinse the peas and pick through them, discarding any broken ones. In a large pot, cover the peas with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour. (Or soak the beans in cold water overnight.)

Step 2

In a medium pot, cook the onions, jalapeños, and celery in butter or bacon fat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Step 3

Drain the peas and add them to the medium pot. Cover them again with water. Add the chopped brisket, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt.

Step 4

Simmer the peas until tender, about 30–40 minutes. Season with more salt if necessary.

Step 5

Serve the black-eyed peas warm with greens, rice, or cornbread.

If beans aren’t your thing, make a pot of beanless Texas chili instead.