Black-Eyed Peas

Jim's recipe

Ingredients

4 cups dried black-eyed peas
12 cups water
2 smoked ham hocks
3 thin 1/8 inch slices of fresh ginger
4 whole allspice kernels
salt to taste (I think I use a little over a tablespoon)

Directions

Rinse the dried peas in several changes of water. Put the peas, water, ham hocks, and ginger slices into a large pot. Put the allspice into a tea ball and put that into the pot as well. Bring to a boil, then cover loosely and simmer for two and a half to three hours. Put in the salt sometime after the first hour. Before serving, remove the ham hocks, and cut up the meat, which you then put back in the pot.

Comments

This would probably serve over 10 people. We usually eat some for dinner, and then get about 6 servings-worth to freeze. You can halve or quarter the recipe.
I'm not sure if the allspice and ginger really do much to the taste -- I just like having them there.
I'm not really sure what the deal is with ham hocks. I've seen two different kinds. The first looks like a muscle wrapped tightly around a bone, and the second looks like a few bones surrounded by more fleshy meat. The first yields far less meat than the second. I'm not sure what their story is, but both work fine in this recipe.

Jim Plank

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