Black-Eyed Peas with Pork and Greens

I've made this soup several times . We love it. I ran out of time today, so I made this soup in my pressure cooker. I cooked the bacon and veggies right on the stove top in the pressure cooker. Then I added the soaked beans, spices, ham, diced tomatoes, spices and water just before I closed the lid. Easy prep. I brought the soup up to pressure and cooked for 10 minutes, took it off and let it set until the pressure cooker had depressurized: another 10 to 15 minutes. I added the kale immediately after opening the cooker and 10 minutes later we were eating soup. For those of you who have never tried pressure cooking, it ROCKS! The flavor of the soup was even better this time, and the unexpected company raved over it. Their 13 year old had two bowlfuls. By the way, I used Farmlands spiral ham and pieces instead of ham steaks. It's cheaper and has a much richer flavor.

Made this today and it was absolutely delicious. Didn't have Kale, so I used a half bag of collard greens that I had left over from another dish - guess any greens will do. I'm giving a lot to friends so they can see how good black-eyed peas and pork neck bones taste. Will definitely make this again.

This was crazy good. I used ham hocks instead of necks, and added andouille sausage to it with the kale. I did not have the canned tomatoes with peppers, so used fresh chopped tomatoes and some ground dried chiles. YUM!!

Excellent! Couldn't get any pork neck bones, so I substituted ham hocks instead. Next time I'll skip the bacon, increase the ham, and use ham hocks again, because their smoky flavor adds so much to this dish. Also used my slow cooker--two hours on high, then about five hours on low, adding the ham and kale during the last 45 minutes of cooking. Since I am allergic to cayenne, I used Penzey's Aleppo Pepper instead. I also doubled the amount of onion the recipe calls for, and sautéed the onion/celery/carrots before adding them to the slow cooker, in order to control the amount of liquid that the onions throw off. I can see this being my family's New Years Day dish for a long time!

Well, this was just a bunch of yumminess in a bowl! It simmered on the stove while we watched the Super Bowl..and, I actually followed this recipe very closely - and based on others' reviews, I added some andouille sausage and used 1/2 chicken broth 1/2 water. I thought the recipe might have called for too much thyme, but it was perfect..Simply delish! Paired it with cornbread and honey which sent it over the top. Will definitely make again!

WOW! Chef John, you've done it again. This is a fantastic recipe. Made it a few days ago as written except I used a half pound more neck bones than called for and increased garlic. The nutrients of almost every ingredient is off the charts and the combined flavors amazing. DO TRY to use the pork neck bones if you can. Simmered with the beans, etc provides a richness and the bits of meat taken off the bones and returned to the pot is delectable. We ate it alone and also with rice. I made so much, I will freeze some and hope that's okay. Chef John, your recipes are all so reliable, uncomplicated and delicious. Keep 'em coming! NOTE, we use collard greens rather than kale since we like it better. I think any hardy green would work.

Love Chef John's recipes so I usually make minor changes, if any. I used fresh purple hull peas for this since I was making it now (July) and live in Texas where they are readily available. I used dried savory as well as thyme because it works really well with bean/pea dishes and while I had never cooked with pork neck bones, gathered my courage and did so...don't substitute. I found really meaty neck bones for $1.50 lb and they were delish! Also used diced ham as called for but substituted vegetable stock for 4 c. of water. After adding the ham, I refrigerated it overnight for the flavors to meld, finishing the dish the next evening. Then I used about 1/2 as many greens (used turnip) since my guy, albeit a Texan, doesn't care much for them and added some ancho head vinegar for more flavor. Delish!! Will make it again.

I really liked this recipe but i cooked it waaaaay longer to have my beps soft enough for my taste. Also will recommend adding more salt. Otherwise, excellent taste and flavor!

It's a nice recipe, but I found the beans were not quite cooked enough for me in the time frame given -- a tiny bit on the crunchy side. Maybe a full hour before adding the tomatoes might be better. Also, the greens added to the beans is an interesting idea, but I still prefer them cooked separately. It could be that the substitutions I made may have made the difference -- I live in Germany, and smoked neckbone and ham hocks American style are not to be found here. I used Sudtiroler speck, a flavorful smoked meat, as a substitute for the neckbone, and smoked Kasseler as a substitute for the ham. I've used Kasseler in the past with excellent results. Bacon as we recognize it is readily available here and can be found already cut into small strips, very convenient for cooking. Even so however, the flavor was not quite as rich as I had hoped. Not bad, but I'll stick to my old recipe for next year.

Made this for New Years Day. Wow! Sooo good even my picky husband said "These are really good!" I made according to Chef Johns recipe only added a Ham Hock. The simmering pot smelled so good too! A keeper for sure.

The whole family says this recipe is a "Keeper". It was EXCELLENT!!! My entire family loved it - even my picky girls! Spice was perfect, flavors melded nicely. Amazing the second day too! Highly recommend this recipe!

This recipes has full rich flavor and I've made it several times, everyone loves it. Of course I made changes to suit my taste-buds. I omitted the ham, I figured bacon was enough. And I exchanged the bunch of kale for bags of mustard and turnip greens. These changes reduced my cooking time tremendously, with the neck bones needing the most cook time. Also, I added Serrano peppers because I like it Hot! I never measure with this type of recipe and the rest of the ingredients I just added according to my taste, and I only omitted the ham.

This recipe is delicious. Thanks for sharing.

Soo good. I love greens and am always looking for different ways to fix them. This had a lot of flavor and the chiles were not too hot. Used ham hocks because necks weren't available. Also used canned beans, so reduced the amount of water and the cooking time. I'll definitely do this one again!

This tasted way better than I expected, but also did some tweaking. I didn't want to wait on the beans over night so I prepped them in the pressure cooker. This greatly saved my cooking time since I didn't need all those simmering times. My family was grossed out by the thought of pigs feet or necks, so I substituted 1/3lb of pork sausage instead. I followed the rest per directions. We all actually enjoyed it quite well though. The recipe as written is quite labor some, so I'm glad I prepped the beans to save time.

I made this recipe yesterday and it was great! I pretty much followed the recipe (didn't measure the vegetables exactly). The only change I made was adding a green pepper, since my diced tomatoes didn't have green chiles in them. I had never used neck bones before, but they gave the dish a richness and also had a surprising amount of meat on them.

Loved it! The only minor changes I made were to use a little more neck bone meat and I used mixed greens instead of just kale. I also like to add a little chipotle hot sauce to it when I eat it. I will definitely make it again!!

I made this delicious dish for a New Years Day gathering at my house. It was a big hit! I got comments such as: "These are very classy black eyed peas." "These were the best black eyed peas that I have even eaten." Of course, I shared the recipe.

Fantastic! Anyone who thinks they do not like black eyed peas should give it a try. I used cubed pork loin instead of pork neck bones, frozen black eyed peas, and added chicken bouillon and it still turned out great. I'm so glad I found this recipe.

Fabulous! Seasonings are perfect! Used ham hocks and made this for the second time tonite. Everyone just loved it. Will continue to make it often. Makes wonderful leftovers that only get more flavorful throughout the week. Great to heat up at lunch time. I also find the rice unnecessary, although it's fine if you like.

Very tasty! I used mustard greens. I think it doesn't matter which greens, they will all taste good. I also had to use canned black eyed peas because I waited until DEC 31 and the dry were all gone! Still very good!

This is a fabulous recipe!!! It makes a lot. I didn't add the greens to the beans, rather I put them in a separate bowl and those who wanted to add them could (I like my greens and - I used collards - with vinegar and a little sugar). I bought 2 lbs. of smoked pork neck bones and 3 large ham hocks to a boil and (I did not brown them because they are smoked; I omitted the smoked ham), cooked them in water until tender, adding additional water as needed but let the liquid cook down during the last hour to concentrate it because I wanted the flavor of the broth to add to the beans. To save time I cooked the beans separately (with the bay leaf and sauteed veggies) the last hour letting the liquid cook down. Poured the reserved liquid from the meat and added to the beans along with the rest of the ingredients. I removed the meat from the bone and cut into bite size pieces. I did have to change things a bit because I used smoked meat - our favorite. I did serve over rice but honestly, the rice isn't necessary. It's good and hearty with or without the rice. I served with some Mexican corn bread (bacon, onion, corn and jalapeno's). Let me say, OMG DELICIOUS!! I froze leftovers after the 2nd day because I am looking forward to this in the weeks to come! Thank you Chef John for yet another fabulous recipe!

I had to change a bunch of stuff because I did not have all the ingredients, but the spices were great together! Added the bacon at the end, it was terrific! Thanks for the guide ;)

Delicious!! The Kale is a WAY WAY better recommendation than the greens I've used in the past. We subbed the 6 cups of water with 6 cups of organic chicken stock, and added an additional 2 cups of water to make the peas more soupy. Rather than the pork neck and bacon... I used the leftover spiral cut ham and bone from Christmas. Let that leg bone cook with the first half of the boil. We only had about 1.5 lbs of leftover ham.... it was perfect. I definitely recommend this recipe .

Loved this recipe. Added more bacon and chunks of ham, chipotle and dry chicken broth for flavor. Served with corn bread.

I will definitely make this again and again. The best black-eyed peas I've ever made. I followed Chef John's recipe with the exception of the neck bones. My store didn't have them. I used 3 smoked ham hocks. Delicious. I removed the meat from the bones after cooking and added it to the peas. I soaked the dry peas overnight then didn't have time to cook the next day....SO....I left them soaking another night in the refrigerator. That's about 36 hours soaking time! WOW they were great. Very tender. From now on I'll do this on purpose. I served these over jasmine rice. It was a huge hit with my hubby...and with me. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I made as written and it is delicious!! My husband was skeptical but even liked it. I will cook the kale much longer (too chewy) or replace with spinach next time.

This is awesome with amazing depth of flavor!! I wanted to use my ham hock that I had left from Christmas dinner. So I thought BEP and HH. That turned out not how I wanted it. So I was on a mission to do it again... I found this recipe and went and bought the neck bones. They were really inexpensive. Don't substitute them if you can help it! Amazing flavor!!! I cooked my dish over an hour longer.. got the consistency and gravy that I wanted. I am so impressed with this dish... I never knew that I would love a dish with BEP... but I do!! I recommend everyone try this... don't deviate too much from the original recipe... you'll be glad you tried this! This is my BEP and ham recipe from now on... for New Years and anytime I want it!! Thanks Chef!!

Great flavor, cayenne pepper overpowered the recipe. I would recommend not adding cayenne. I added a total of 2 cups diced carrots,12oz smoked ham & 10oz of kale. It was delicious.-Kris

This was amazing! I was searching for a New Year's Day good luck meal that didn't require slaving over the stove. This is it! We just happened to have some pork neck bones, so this came together easily. I increased the cumin and thyme, and added some smoked sweet paprika for a bit more smoky flavor. Perfect! It's even better the next day! A go-to for New Year's Day - or anytime!

We made this for New Years Day and it was delicious!! Used ham hocks instead of neck bones but otherwise followed the recipe. Very good! Happy new year!

Chef John did it again! This came out awesome! I added Andouille sausage and substituted fresh tomatoes for the canned since I didn't have them on hand. Next time I think I will add some mild canned green chilis to the recipe. I also did end up cooking it for an hour and fifteen minutes to get the beans cooked through. Thanks so much for the recipe!

Delicious recipe once again! I always go to Chef John first and foremost when looking for a recipe. He hasn't let me down yet!

This was a delicious variation on our normal black eyed peas. I made this for our family's New Year celebration and it was a huge hit. We used "smoked neck bone" and it really gave the dish a nice smokey flavor. This recipe will now be a staple to our New Year's table.

Sooooo good. I did make some changes due to what I had on hand... No pork necks, so I boiled the bone from the Easter ham and added 2 drops of liquid smoke. No canned tomatoes with green chilies, so I used diced fresh tomatoes and added red pepper flakes. Will def make again!!

This WAS AMAZING!! Even my non-black eyed pea fans raved about it - and that alone speaks volumes. Wish I could give it more than five stars!

We made this with no changes except we used a ham hock. It was delicious. The only change I would make next time is not cooking it down as much on the last step. The beans kept up soaking in the moisture after it was cooked and I ended up adding another two cups of water. Great recipe!

So yummy! We have made this 3 years in a row for New Years!

It's hard to find a good recipe for black-eyed peas, but this is excellent. Since my wife doesn't usually like BE peas, and it's just the two of us, I halved the recipe. I used vegetable stock and added some andouille sausage, pork neck bones and bacon, which adds a savory richness. I needed to add more water towards the end. I also used a little cracked red pepper adding a heat dimension. A very satisfying course over rice or by itself.

Really good, but a bit too salty. Will definitely make it again, but I will cut back on the salt.

GREAT recipe!! I did change a few things; ham hocks instead of necks because I couldn't find them. No bacon because bacon "mixed" with things is gross. No additional meat other than what came off the ham hock. I also added chicken base. Everyone, even my kids loved this!!!!

This is so so good but I did make some slight changes. Instead of neck bones, ham and kale... I added 1.5 pound sage sausage and fresh spinach. Didn't add the cayenne but added basil, parsley, marjoram and oregano. Some in me home can't do spicy. Made individual cornbread loaves with cracklins. A must try!

I used what was left of a spiral cut ham and collard greens - turned out great and I'll be making another batch this week. it's hard to keep them around they're that good!

Wonderful flavors did not have any neck bones so used a smoked ham hock which I cooked for about two hours (or until falling off the bone). Took the meat off and used the water from the ham hocks and added the peas.When I sauteed the bacon I used the bacon grease to soften all the vegetables (onion,celery, carrot and garlic). Followed the recipe as written, for all other steps Everything went into the slow cooker for 8 hours . Cooking it again for a large group.

Yummy

Very tasty! Made with ham hock, otherwise kept everything the same. Added some salt, and it was great!

A friend has made this recipe before and I thought it was delicious so I was planning on using this recipe for New Years for my family. Only change I had planned was I wanted to use my big ham bone leftover from Christmas. So I started out browning the ham- and then it hit me- I had a honey baked ham and adding green chiles and cayenne didn't sound so appealing to the sweetness of honey and clove. So I followed everything in your recipe until the spices- then I only added cinnamon and a bay leaf. I used Chicken broth instead of water, and diced tomatoes with garlic rather than the green chilies. It turned out SO GOOD. The kids went back for seconds and I brought left overs into work the next day and everyone really enjoyed it. Total comfort food! Thanks for the great recipe- Paula

I used Boar's Head smoked ham and browned it in the Bacon fat for added flavor. I left out the carrot and celery because I did not have it. I used fresh poblano pepper instead of the tomato with chili pepper. Make sure you cook the bacon in the oven to get a better cook and rendering of the fat. I forgot to add the tomatoes and I I still thought it was incredible.

I love this

Another year and made this amazing recipe! I followed exact but used baby spinach instead of Kale and served with souther (non-sweet) cornbread. I doubled this recipe and five bowls to my neighbor-friends each year. Love this recipe and so does everyone else!

Hearty, flavorful peas! It had some heat to it, but we added some Tapatio when it was finished. I used cajun spice mix, thyme, cumin and bay leaf. Great winter supper!

Will use again next year....used bacon but no pork

Made this vegetarian just by leaving out the meats. Used butter and olive oil to sauté veggies at the start. Plenty of good flavor here. First really useful BEP recipe I've tried.

I absolutely love this recipe. My family does too. I have served it over rice and by itself. It is delish. Like others I subbed the water for Chicken Broth. The first time I made it I was skinchy w/ the kale thinking I wouldn't like it. This time I was all in and it is so good.

I have no words to describe how much I love this recipe. Will never do Black Eyed Peas any other way. I followed the recipe as is. SO delicious! I'm looking forward to getting hungry again so I can have some more!

I made this on New Years day. The only changes were: I used a smoked turkey leg instead of the pork necks and I used frozen spinach instead of fresh kale. My wife and son enjoyed it. Revise: This just got better the next day. Really scrumptious.

This is a great recipe-used a ham bone, and 4 cups chicken broth plus 2 cups water in the crock pot. Forgot to get the greens, but beans have great flavor and a nice broth-definitely a keeper!

This recipe was absolutely delicious. My husband kept saying you got smelling like soul up in here. Will definitely use this recipe again. No changes were made.

Good! Nothing great, but it was hearty and full of healthy goods!

This was wonderful!! It had amazing,deep flavor, and for our family, just the right balance between being thick and soupy. I didn't have any neck bones or ham hocks, and we were also out of regular ham. But after cooking the bacon I chopped up 1/2 a Polish sausage and let it caramelize in the bacon drippings before adding the vegetables. Very yummy meal--definite do-over.

Hard to beat this just the way the recipe is written. Happy that I doubled it because it may be great tomorrow as well.

This is fantastic. I love love this receipe. My mother in law even likes it and she's an excellent cook, if she approves then you know its the best.

I used collard greens instead of kale, left out the pork neck bones and used a whole pound of bacon because my family loves it! This was the best mixture of black eyed peas and greens I have ever tried....and I've been searching for years as we like greens and black eyed peas with ham every New Year's day. I am even making it on just a regular day....because it was so well received.

Just finished a bowl and it was outstanding! It gets four double thumbs up from my brood.

Great recipe,used a country ham hock trimmed instead of bacon and andouille sausage in place of ham for a little kick. Rest of the ingredients stayed the same. Made all this in the pressure cooker. Adding tomatoes,sausage and kale at the end. Hope to have this for many more New Years.

Instead of ham hocks I used hog jowls, other than that I made it as Chef John did. It was fantastic tasting and it was pretty too. The greens stayed bright green and with the tomatoes it looked as good as it tasted. I used Jasmine rice and a cornbread recipe that using creamed corn and lots of butter and eggs. For dessert it was a Southern Buttermilk Pie.

Love this. Very first time have cooked with black eye peas. Added a bit of paprika, used lean bacon cut up and pork steak.

Full family approval :)

This is a keeper. Followed the recipe since I've never made this type of bean before. I did not have neck bones this time but I added liquid smoke. I also didn't have green chili tomatoes, used plain diced. Didn't have greens & I was going to add spinach but I forgot. No matter this was SO good. I don't cook with cumin much so I was a little afraid of the smell 1/2 hour into cooking. Don't be such a fraidy cat to use unfamiliar seasonings. It was a huge hit. Since there's only the 2 of us, some went into the freezer for next time.

Very good! Great new years dish!

Saw the reviews and decided to try it out this New Years. Boy was it awesome! Kept pretty much to the recipe and used collards. Had extra ham left over from Christmas that needed to get eaten so I probably doubled that part and increased my veggies accordingly. Even the kids loved it. Definitely adding this one to my favorites!

I’ve never been a huge black-eyed pea fan but wanted to make the traditional dish w collards for NYD. So glad I chose this one bc turns out I do like black eyed peas! I didn’t read the directions that closely & basically omitted the first step involving the bacon & neck bones. Essentially followed the remainder of the recipe except I used a bag of frozen BEP & used 3 c chicken broth w 3 c water. Added the diced ham in when I added the beans & broth. Used the suggested spice measurements and they were spot on for our family- not hot but definitely a nice flavor. Added collards towards the end and in the last 15 min added the salt. Cooked the day before to really let the flavors meld. Impressed! Thank you Chef John!

Very Tasty... right down to the last pop ion your mouth of the black eyed peas...

Next time I’ll try a different green, probably spinach. Likely just my bias against kale but it was too chunky and tough. Maybe I’d like it better if I cooked the kale longer. At any rate, the flavor is amazing so I’m still giving it five stars.

Excellent!!! Takes a good amount of time to cook. For me approx 4 hrs. Can't rush the raw beans. Has to simmer pretty much.

I planned to prepare as written, but forgot to add the ham. I didn’t even realize until I was cleaning up the kitchen. It was fabulous anyway. It’s the best recipe for black eyed peas I have had. It was a little more time consuming than just throwing some peas in a pot, but the result was so worth it. I like things a little spicy, so I added some red chili, and some red pepper flakes at the end for a little kick. When I make it again I will omit the ham or bacon, since it had enough meat for my taste, with my forgetting the ham. I would not omit the smoked pork neck. That added so much flavor!

I loved this recipe, but I changed it a bit. No tomatoes, only pork belly, spinach and used instant pot for 50 minutes and it was fabulous!

Delish!

Once it's all cooked, I just love the way you can put it over rice! The ham hock, bacon and diced smoked ham give it a 3-dimensional flavor/seasoning! And just a hint of zip or spice--brilliant! This I'll make again.

Great recipe. Followed it except for the following: Did not brown the pork neck bones. Seems redundant and does not add flavor as they are already smoked. Instead I boiled them until the meat came off the bones and used the broth instead of the water—just had to top it off with a small amount of water. Maybe the recipe was for raw neck bones? Never even looked in the store for raw one. I also had bacon already cooked so just chopped it up and added. I used smoked boneless pork chops instead of ham because that’s what I had. I think they are meatier and have more flavor. I put everything in a slow cooker except the kale and ham and cooked on high about 4 hours until peas were tender then added kale and ham and cooked until greens were tender. This is the first time I used smoked pork neck bones. It will not be the last. I think they have more flavor and less fat than ham hocks.

Best Blsvk eyed peas recipe I've come across. I don't like kale so I substitute with collards. Yummy

My favorite Hoppin' John so far! I had to go to three stores to find neck bones (they had both fresh and smoked - glad I got the smoked!). I was running out of time to get the family fed, so after about 45 minutes of simmering, I put the final ingredients with it into the InstantPot for 15 minutes. I used baby kale which was very tender, so I just added it at the last minute as I served over rice. I added one chicken bouillon cube during simmering because I was a little worried that using water instead of stock would make it less flavorful, but it was fantastic. The peas were creamy and perfectly cooked. My 8-year-old son, whose name happens to be John, announced that hopping John loves Hoppin' John! :)

Good recipe. Black eyed peas resemble cowrie shells which were used as currency in West Africa may be the reason for the belief that black eyed peas bring wealth.