If pork isn’t one of your favorite meats, you may want to click on. This New Year’s Supper is packed full of piggy goodness. That’s just the way The Hubby likes it, and cooks it! (Yea me!)
When I was growing up on the western side of the Mississippi River, pork was a meat we ate frequently. Pork chops, floured and fried in bacon grease and bathed in a creamy white gravy. Dutch oven baked pork roast with piles of tender carrots, potatoes and onion sprinkled in for tasty measure (Pop’s favorite!). Flaky baking powder biscuits concealed by mounds of savory sausage gravy. I could go on… Mom and Pop’s New Year’s Day dinner menu ranged from year to year. One year it might be herbed pork roast. Another year might be rung in with medium-rare prime-rib, or crispy-skinned roasted turkey. Perhaps a clove-studded ham. Always a potato and green veg of some sort.
The Hubby ate his fair share of porky parts growing up as well. Crispy bacon strips. Spicy slices of fried Neese’s livermush with buttered toast. Fried pork chops with mashed potatoes ‘n’ milk gravy. But for The Hubby’s family, New Year’s Day supper is a long-established observance. Always a fatty roasted ham, sliced thick, with a pile of tender, slightly vinegary collard greens, and a mound of spiced black-eyed peas nearby. And corn bread. Always corn bread!
The combination of pork, greens, beans and cornbread is truly a plate of flavors from a melting pot of cultures. Germans traditionally eat pork because of a pig’s innate nature to root forward with their snouts. Served with a sauerkraut side, this meal brings its’ eater good luck, or viel glück in German. Cabbage and greens like collards, kale or mustard greens grow best in early spring or fall seasons, making it a plentiful cool weather veg. It’s leafy resemblance to green paper money is fabled to create prosperity too!
Italians eat lentils at the end of the calendar year because of their coiny resemblance. Enslaved peoples from countries in West African countries brought black-eyed peas (aka cow peas) with them to North America. Traditionally, black-eyed peas are cooked into a classic southern dish called Hoppin’ John. Historically, black-eyed peas were grown as livestock feed in the American South, as well as eaten by enslaved peoples. After the Civil War, when crops were at a premium and weren’t decimated, everyone ate what they could, and black-eyed peas have been a table staple since then. Cornbread, another Southern essential, represented gold for obvious reasons.
For one day each year, we go whole-hog and put it in 99% of our New Year meal. The Hubby uses salt pork, cubed and crisped, as a topping for his luscious Collard Greens. Smoky andouille sausage and thick bacon lardons (small slices) cook down with, and flavor up, creamy Black-Eyed Peas. The star of the supper show? Ham! We prefer to roast a whole ham and carve off juicy chunks. The Hubby generally cooks ham using the suggested recipe straight from the porky package, but there are many succulent recipes on the WWW to choose from.
So here’s to a New Year with whatever health, wealth and wisdom it bestows upon us!
PrintSouthern-Style Collard Greens
Tender, velvety and slightly spicy with a vinegary bite, Southern-Style Collard Greens are a quintessential New Year side.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 1 Hour
- Total Time: 75 Minutes
- Yield: 5–6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
1–1/2 to 2 pounds collard greens, rinsed, stem removed and cut into inch-size pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil
1–1/2 cup salt pork, diced into 1/4-inch chunks
1 cup onion, diced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground black pepper*
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Franks, Crystal or Tabasco)*
Instructions
In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil and diced salt pork. Cook until crispy and brown. Remove to a paper-towel lined dish to cool.
Add the onion to the pot. Cook until softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add pepper flakes, ground black pepper, and collards. Stir frequently until collard greens wilt. Add chicken stock and water. Cover pot and let cook for 40-45 minutes. Increase heat to high and stir in white vinegar and hot sauce. Adjust salt and spiced heat to your taste. Stir in 1 cup of salt pork and put into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup salt pork. Serve.
Notes
*Adjust or omit to your preferred level of spiced heat.
Black-Eyed Peas
These Black-Eyed Peas are substantial, creamy, spicy and smokey. Your good luck chances for the New Year increase when served alongside Southern Collard Greens, ham and cornbread,
- Prep Time: About 2-1/2 Hours
- Cook Time: 45-50 Minutes
- Total Time: About 3-1/2 Hours
- Yield: 5 to 6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
1 pound black-eyed peas, washed and rinsed; remove any partial peas and foreign material like pebbles.
5–6 thick-cut slices bacon, cut into lardons or 1/4-inch slices
1 to 1-1/2 cup andouille sausage or other smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup (about 1 large) onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 to 3 tsp. fresh garlic (about 3 cloves), minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced and deseeded
2 tsp. thyme, dried or fresh
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 tsp. Creole Seasoning, to taste
7 to 8 cups chicken stock or water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Place washed, rinsed and debris-free black-eyed peas in a large stock pot. Cover with 2 to 3 inches of cold water. Let sit for 2 to 3 hours. Overnight is best for creamy peas!
In a large pan over medium-high heat, saute bacon and sausage until crispy and browned. Remove from pan to a paper-towel lined plate. Add onion, celery, garlic and jalapeno, thyme, bay leaf and Creole Seasoning to pan. Saute for about 4-5 minutes or until onions are slightly translucent.
Drain the water from the stock pot. Stir in the onion mixture and chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until peas are tender. Stir in bacon and sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes longer or until broth thickens to your liking. Add more chicken stock or water as needed. Peas should be tender and creamy, not watery and crunchy. Adjust salt, pepper, and Creole Seasoning to your spice tolerance.
IMNPB
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