Sounds like Po’ Folks.
I’m pretty sure I’ve learned of the tradition here on the SDMB, probably 10-15 years ago. Otherwise, I don’t really think it ever comes up around my peers. Hell, all I knew of “black-eyed peas” as a phrase in the 90s was they were a band with Fergie, will.i.am, and some other dude.
At any rate, despite my culinary adventures, I don’t think I’ve ever had black-eyed peas, or at least not proper Southern/soul-prepared versions of them.
I would also add Coco’s.
In my Southern experience (living around 10 miles from the original founding Po Folks resturant) the proper prepared versions of various peas and beans is 1.) peas, 2.) boiling water, 3.) Salt and usually 4.) around a tablespoon of oil in the water for some reason. Not more elaborate than that. Although when I started cooking for myself I developed a taste for a more fancy feast and wiuld use a bag of 15 bean soup with the hot water, salt, and oil.
So they’re typically eaten plain? I mean I make all my legumes pretty much the same way, but then I prepare them in a recipe. I assumed there’d be smoked or cured meats involved, being southern and all.
I mean, it’s an option. But not a necessity. In my experience various types of beans/peas. I guess it depends if you intend for the peas to ve the entire meal (include meat) or a side (don’t). To me most types of dried beans/peas are fairly interchangeable (other than size).
I mean specifically with black eyed peas for New Years. Is there a general way it is prepared for the tradition?
Yes, there should be some pork in there somewhere. Some people use bacon, some the left over bone from a ham (with some meat attached). We’ve started using pork neck (aka, pork collar or coppa) which is super-cheap and has a decent amount of meat on it.
That’s something my grandmother and her siblings ate but I never tried so I never looked at closely. But I strongly doubt there was meat added. The peas were just half of the tradition. It was collard greens and black-eyed peas. I always assumed cooked and served separately. But my family was never into complex recipes. Our “spice rack” would be salt and sage (the sage is for making dressing from cornbread). To this day the large majority of spices are just names in a label to me.
I think that traditionally a meal of collard greens and black-eyed peas is what you eat because you are too poor to afford meat.
I think if you ask a dozen people, you may end up with 2 dozen recipes. There’s no single way to do it that’s generally accepted.
Though a lot of people will add some bacon or ham or other meat (if you’re into new-fangled turkey or something). Greens and/or cornbread are often also prepared. The particular mix of seasoning, whether just salt or also some blend of spices, can also vary.
Cooking it with a ham hock is pretty typical in Texas. And yeah, plus collard greens and cornbread.