Traditional Southern Hoppin’ John with beans and rice.
As many of our readers know traditional Hoppin’ John is native to the South. You can find this Southern dish throughout the Carolina’s and the deep South. West African slaves who worked the rice plantations brought black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, to America. Hoppin’ John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, beef, ham hocks, or fat back pork, rice, and tomato sauce.
One of my favorite recipes for Hoppin’ John is:
My Hoppin’ John Recipe
2 cups dried black-eyed peas (or Navy beans)
1/2 gallon cold water
1 pound beef kielbasa sausage
1 large red onion, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4-8 beef bullion cubes or 2-4 tablespoons beef base (depending on your taste)
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
Salt and black pepper to taste
NOTE: Before preparing dried beans, sort through them for tiny pebbles or other debris. Soak, rinse and drain dried black-eyed peas. 
Soak the black eyed peas overnight in water or for 8-10 hours. When soaking is finished, add fresh water, bullion or base and olive oil in your pot. Also, add your onion, crushed red peppers and beef kielbasa sausage (sliced). Salt and pepper to your taste. Cook on low to medium heat at a simmer to almost a low boil for around 8 hours depending on how soft the peas are. The peas should be whole and soft, and the pot liquor (broth) should be mostly clear. If the peas are in pieces or the pot liquor is cloudy and thick, you’ve cooked at too high a temperature. Check the peas often to make sure they are not on a rolling boil, it doesn’t take much to get there. Enjoy these and if you try this recipe send me your results on how it turns out. You can even send me your recipe.
The following recipe was originally sourced in American Civil War Forum and attributed to N. Cook, from Kentucky. I have made some edits and changes to fit my taste but present the basic recipe to you as I found it. You can modify the recipe to suit your taste too.
Variations to traditional Hoppin’ John are wide ranged. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately. The first written recipe for Hoppin’ John appeared in the “Carolina Housewife” in 1847.
Old Southern Hoppin’ John Recipe
2 cups dried black-eyed peas
Cold water
1 pound stew beef
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Traditional Collard Greens for New Year Green!
Collard greens are a traditional Southern New Year’s Day vegetable in hopes of gaining some “pocket green”—money—in the new year. I’m not sure if the realization of extra pocket green really happens but the collards are a great green to enjoy wherever you live.
The great bonus to these greens are that they are really good for you. The collard greens are packed with lots of vitamins and minerals to help build your immune system to fight off winter miseries. Even more, they are easy to make!
Select the collard greens by looking for leaves with a firm texture that haven’t wilted. Deep green colored leaves free of blemishes or brown spots is best. Collard greens are hearty and if fresh can be stored in your refrigerator for a week or so if need be.
When preparing these greens make sure you rinse thoroughly under running water and then soak them in abig pot to loosen any dirt that didn’t wash off. A final rinse helps to remove any dirt or sand. Shake off any excess water and pat the leaves dry before heading to the cutting board.
Some people remove the stems from the leaves and toss them, but I prefer to leave them on for more fullness and nutrients. Lay the leaves on your cutting board and slice long ways along the stem two or three slices and then cut them across the grain about an inch width. Now you’re ready to get cooking.
If you making them like me, you’ll need to plan for the greens to cook over night in your cooker or pot on simmer or a low heat setting. I prefer to cook on lower heat for longer periods of time because that helps retain more of the nutrient vale and helps maintain the vegetable or bean instead of boiling it to bits.
What you’ll need:
Collard greens (1 or 2 bunches goes a long way)
Cold water
1 pound beef kielbasa sausage for flavoring
Chicken or beef bullion cubes or broth to your taste (I usually add 4 cubes for two bunches)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Add water or broth to a large stockpot, along with meat (i like beef kielbasa), olive oil and seasoning. Allow this mixture to simmer for about an hour. Add greens to the pot. I cook them overnight on simmer to low heat. Next morning you’ll be in culinary heaven!
I hope you have a Happy New Year and your New Year’s Day Southern style is a big success!
Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. TheStandardSC video media channel is being censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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