deep fried black eyed peas y'all!

Recipe by
Gina Davis
Cedar Bluff, VA

OK Y'all!!!! WOW-O-WOW!! I ate these at a little Mom & Pop's place off the interstate in Louisiana and well...SMACK MY GRANNY AND CALL ME CRAZY DELICIOUS!!!! So Me being ME :) HAD TO HAVE THE RECIPE so I just asked! A wonderful older lady named Ms.Ellen came out and ran it down for me and TRUST me they were spot on! Being a black eyed pea loving country gal who knew about these right? Well I looked on Google and there they were in all their GLORY! But I used Ms.Ellen's recipe and it is GREAT! DO NOT use canned B.E.P's they DO NOT work! I tried them with my home canned ones and MISTAKE!

yield serving(s)
prep time 8 Hr
cook time 1 Hr 30 Min
method Deep Fry

Ingredients For deep fried black eyed peas y'all!

  • 1 lb
    dry bagged black eyed peas
  • 1 lg
    onion quartered
  • 3 clove
    garlic
  • 1-2
    jalapenos (optional) cut in half length wise and seeded
  • 1
    bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp
    ham flavored seasoning~optional (try to find this it really pops the flavor!)
  • 1 Tbsp
    salt
  • 1 Tbsp
    pepper
  • water
  • oil for deep frying
  • cajun seasoning (i recommend slap ya mama or tony chachere's spice n' herbs)

How To Make deep fried black eyed peas y'all!

  • 1
    Either the night before or early the same morning rinse and pick through the black eyed peas (to get the bad beans out) and put B.E.Ps in a large bowl or pot and cover with water. Water should be at least 3-4 inches above the B.E.Ps. Cover and set aside for at least 8 hours. Or over night. All you are doing is soaking your beans or peas to give them a head start on cooking and to make cooking of the beans more even through out them.
  • 2
    After beans have soaked for the time needed drain and rinse beans and put them in a heavy bottom pot. Cover beans with 2 inches of cold tap water.
  • 3
    Quarter onion, half and seed jalapeno (if using it) peel garlic, and grab a bay leaf and toss in the pot. Add powdered ham seasoning, salt and pepper (use more or less s&p to your taste)
  • 4
    Put B.E.Ps on stove top and heat on high until they start to boil and then reduce heat to a simmer (that is medium low on my stove) and cover pot lid set cockeyed so peas can vent well. ADD water as needed to keep liquid in them.
  • 5
    Cook B.E.Ps for 30-40 minutes until done. Peas when done will be firm but when you bite into them they will be creamy. Don't over cook or the peas will not fry they will just make a mush pile!
  • 6
    Once done strain peas in colander let drain for 5 minutes and then spread them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels or a dish towel and cool completely in fridge. Remove onion pepper and bay leaf. Leave in fridge until ready to fry.
  • 7
    Heat oil in pan to 350 degrees add 1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked, cooled peas to hot oil and fry for 3-5 minutes until crispy. If you over cook to much they become hard through and not as good as when soft in the middle.
  • 8
    Once cooked to crispy remove peas and drain on paper towels. Draining should only take about 1-2 minutes. Put drained peas in a bowl and sprinkle with Cajun Seasoning and a pinch of salt, toss to lightly coat peas and put them into serving dish.
  • 9
    Repeat until all the peas are fried. **This is the seasoning I use on the Peas :)
  • 10
    **This is the Ham flavoring I use when boiling the Peas. Sit back and chow down with a good movie! BUT mostly just ENJOY!!! Happy Cooking!
  • 11
    I make these for breakfast! Deep Fried Black Eyed Peas, Hash Browns, Bacon and a Over Medium Egg is awesome together! When that warm yolk hits the Peas and other goodies it is AWESOME!
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