,Hey, Ethnic Southern cooks. May I have your attention, please?!
Answers: What is the secret to cooking with hog jowls/salt port. I cooked some black eye peas today that looked and smelled delicious but was so salty we couldn't eat them. I did not put any seasoning in them other than what was already on the pork. I even scraped off a lot of the salt for fear it was too much. This was my first venture into "down south home cooking". What did I do wrong?
What my father would always do and what I do when I cook with salt pork is to boil it over a high flame for about 20 to 25 minutes, (in a shallow pan with the water just covering the meat), this will remove a lot of the salt, minus what you scrape off. Slice the salt pork in to medium size slices for this, hope this helps because there is no seasoning like a good piece of fatback and/or salt pork. God Bless.
it all depends....Did you use canned or the uncooked Black eyed peas. If you used canned that would explain it. If not with the broth as we call it, when it cooks down with the beans, you have to replace the water...Jowls are salty, sometimes you can pre-boil the jowls to get some of the salt out, then put it into your beans... You usually make a big ole pot of bean, so the water will thin out some of the saltiness...as well...
It depends on the hog jowls or salt pork- and how it was processed. I made both black eyed peas and collard greens today with ham hocks that were not so salty- maybe you are using too little water, and if you use salt pork, I would try to boil it first for 30 minutes, and then drain and rinse and then use- that will remove a large quantity of salt.
Here is how I make them:
Boil ham hocks in water for 2 hours. Add black eyed peas that hoave been soaked overnight with enough water added to cover. boil for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water if level drops lower thant he beans. Take hock out and cut up any of the meat that is on it, and discard bones, put meat back in pot.
Cook 4 slices thick bacon and remove from pan, in the bacon fat, cook one chopped onion and one chopped green pepper until soft. Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and add bacon, onions, and green pepper, and 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes to peas. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and tabasco to taste.
Cook for 30 more minutes.
you could put potatoes in to soak up salt
I'm from Ohio, with deep,deep,deep roots in the south. I'm sorry that your peas didn't turn out like you wanted. I've cooked plenty of beans, peas etc...I've found bacon or smoked turkey a better choice for seasoning. IMO, you get more flavor,without as much saltiness. If you still prefer to use salt pork or a hock, try this method. Take a large pot and add your meat of choice. Fill with water and allow it to simmer on low heat for at least 45 mins-1 hr. Meanwhile in another pan, sautee chopped onion,red or green bell pepper and garlic, in olive oil until soft. Remove the meat (reserve and chop to add towards the end),add peas or beans and sauteed veggies. Cover with more water. Return to low-medium heat. Continue cooking (follow package recommendations). Toss in the reserved meat, if desired. Hope this helps. Happy New Year!
i use jowls + fatback , no salted anything , fresh beans , never had to rinse or drain the meat product during cooking , i add water + cook it down , also only use fresh b.e. peas .
A lot of southern cooks do not use salt pork so don't feel like you have to. I personally can't stand it, but my dad always liked cooking with it. I've never been a big fan of salt anyway. =P In my black eyes peas I just use ham bone.
Rinse the salt pork.
My simple recipe is to use a slow cooker.
You can soak the beans over night or not. If you don't you need a lot more water.
1 lb of beans or black eye peas
1 hunk of salt pork, rinsed. I usually use about a 3" x 3" piece.
1 whole onion, don't need to cut
other meat - hog jowls, leftover ham chunks
Water
Add very thing to the crock pot plus enough water to cover the beans with an inch or two of water.
Let cook all day. Check every once in awhile to make sure you still have enough liquid to cover the beans.
You need to pre-soak the hog jowls and pour off the water before you cook all. sometimes you need to soak the hog jowls twice as they are sometimes packed in salt. another thing you can do it to cook with twice a many black eye beans to soak up the salt.