The Lee Brothers' Hoppin’ John
Updated Oct. 23, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup dried black-eyed peas or field peas
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1smoked hog jowl, or ¼ pound (3 strips) thick-cut smoked bacon
- 1medium onion, coarsely chopped
- ½teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1teaspoon salt
- 5 or 6peeled whole tomatoes, or half a 28-ounce can, drained (optional)
- 1½cups uncooked rice
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
381 calories; 9 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 1264 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Wash the peas in a strainer, and soak them for 4 hours in ample fresh water. When ready, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a 4-quart pot, and brown the hog jowl on both sides. (If using bacon, omit the olive oil, and simply render the fat in the pot for 5 minutes.) Add onion, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 6 cups water, black pepper, red pepper and salt, and bring to a boil.
- Step 2
Let mixture boil 10 minutes, and then add peas. Maintain a low boil, uncovered, until peas are nearly tender (25 minutes for black-eyed peas, 30 minutes for field peas). In a bowl, lightly crush tomatoes, and add to pot. Add rice to pot, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.
- Step 3
Turn off flame, and allow hoppin' John to steam in pot, lid on, for 5 minutes. If using hog jowl, remove from pot, and shred meat. Fluff hoppin' John, and add shredded jowl. Serve.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a reliable New Year's Day, good luck and prosperity beans, pork and rice dish. I add red pepper flakes and a few dashes of Tobasco to add a bit of heat and to pump up the flavor.
We prefer more beans, so I invert the proportions of beans to rice.
Don't forget to add a quarter to the dish. Whoever finds it is granted extra special good luck for the coming New Year!
Made this for New Years tomorrow and per the reviews I read here before making it did some additions. If you are looking for a guaranteed boost to this recipe, keep reading. I added 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 1 stalk of chopped celery to the sautéed onion. Then deglazed the pan for that delicious frond with a couple of splashes of white wine. For the stock, added 1.5 teaspoons of veggie base better than bullion (decrease the salt to 1/2 tsp), 2 bay leaves and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Really liked it. Added carrots and celery. Made it with bacon. Going to try adding some sausage next time.
This is an excellent version of hoppin' john. I leave out the tomatoes but then serve with chopped scallions, shredded cheddar, and diced tomatoes to sprinkle on top, then we often add a fried egg to the top. You can also quick soak the black eyed peas by bringing them to a boil and then turning off the heat and letting it sit for 1 hour.
Delicious. Creamy and flavorful.
This was a big hit with our friends. I only used the bacon and I used 4 whole peeled canned tomatoes crushed by hand. Another recipe on NYT called for chopped garlic, so I added that, too. Finally, the local food store had rehydrated black eyed peas, so I used those and cut down the cooking time since that package indicated to cook for just 20 minutes. Basically, I was able to add the peas and the rice at the same time.