The Almanac Chefs
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Was quite interested to see the recipe for HOPPIN’ JOHN: A TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN DISH FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY. I'm from Guyana, South America originally, now living in Ontario Canada ..and this is a traditional dish cooked for New years day in Guyana also. The dried Black eyed peas can be used also. But it has to be washed and covered in water.. even overnight and then cooked with some salt.. when the beans start to get tender we add rice with seasonings and coconut milk...(milk squeezed fresh form the meat of the dried coconuts) you can also used the canned coconut milk.
Can you prepare this in a crockpot or instapot?
Sure. You can prepare Hoppin’ John in any big pot. In terms of an instant pot, we don’t see why not. You’ll have to Google Instant Pot Hoppin’ John.
I'm from deep in the low country of South Carolina. Where I'm from we would never, ever use black eyed peas for Hoppin'Johns! We used a small, red pea commonly referred to as Field Peas; very different texture and flavor. More flavor and fiber, less starchy. In fact, my momma never cooked black eyed peas!
On my daddy's farm these peas grew wild among the other crops. Apparently this was the case for hundreds of years.
This year, having moved to NC from PA, I decided to grow Iron and Clay, an old SC heirloom. It sprawled, climbed the neighboring okra and finally starting blooming and produced a late summer crop.
You can get real field peas dried in southern grocery stores. The frozen ones are fake! They're black eyed peas. When I was in the north I jumped through hoops to get field peas for "real" Hoppin'Johns!
Please try the recipes with some real southern peas! I like to soak them overnight so they taste more like fresh-shelled field peas.
I'm from the Low Country of SC and we've always made them with Black eye peas. 6 generations we've used the same recipes dating back to the civil war. Infact I'm using the same cast iron that my 4xs great grandmother used, that was passed down to the eldest daughter of the eldest son.
Thanks for the tip, Delphine! We will have to try field peas next year!
When my sons were little, I often made soup from various types of Jack Rabbit brand dry beans. Back then the bag for black-eyed peas had a recipe on the back for and a story about Hopping John, and it has been popular with my family from the first time I made it. We have enjoyed it several times each year since, although not always on New Year's Day. Some 30-odd years later now, it is still one of my oldest son's all time favorite dishes!
When I was small, we had black eyed peas & hog's jowl. I love soup. My mom in law one year decided instead it was going to be hopping John instead of plain black eyed peas. left me a can, then one day we decided soup would be good, but too lazy to go out & get a can a tomatoes. I put the can of hopping John & soup has never been better.
Every New Years Day we have Black-eyed peas and cornbread a tradition I have brought with me to Massachusetts from Oklahoma 34 yrs. ago. My wife a native Bostonian was skeptical to try this dish the first yr. of our marriage 34 yrs. ago, but now looks forward each New Years Day for our Good Luck meal.
Recipe for good luck and money for the New Year