The Annual Black-eyed Pea Poll -2012 (living in, cities, cheaper)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

.....but I make darn sure all the fat is cut off my meat before I start eating it. I order a sliced brisket plate, the first thing I say after placing my order is . . . make sure there's no fat on it.

I can't in my wildest dreams imagine someone eating any of that fat block of salt pork.

I remember my Daddy liking Wolf Brand chili when I was a kid. OMG, I tried it once and all there was to it was a bunch of gristle/fat and chili sauce. One bite of that fat/gristle done me in.

Yessssssss to all the above and everything I didn't include in the quote! It's one reason why I never order brisket out, because it's nearly always gross and fatty....ewwwww.

There's no such thing as ANY decent canned chili because of the trash gristle meat they use to make it, even Wolf brand, which is supposed to be so all-fired great and TEXAS-style...yeah, right. Yuuuuck!!!

I will use smoked ham hocks if I can find some decent ones. The good pieces often have quite a bit of lean meat that can be cut out and chopped to add back.

I try not to think of someone actually eating pieces of salt pork....or bacon that's not fried crisp. Talk about bringing on the heaves...

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Yessssssss to all the above and everything I didn't include in the quote! It's one reason why I never order brisket out, because it's nearly always gross and fatty....ewwwww.

There's no such thing as ANY decent canned chili because of the trash gristle meat they use to make it, even Wolf brand, which is supposed to be so all-fired great and TEXAS-style...yeah, right. Yuuuuck!!!

I will use smoked ham hocks if I can find some decent ones. The good pieces often have quite a bit of lean meat that can be cut out and chopped to add back.

I try not to think of someone actually eating pieces of salt pork....or bacon that's not fried crisp. Talk about bringing on the heaves...

Well, sis, I can handle Wolf Brand chili...if for no other reason it is better than any other! LOL

But seriously, as to the black-eyed pea topic? As far as I am concerned, "canned" black-eyed peas rank right down there with not having them at all. And THAT, says something..

Fresh picked and home-shelled out of the garden are best. Bought the same from the "Farmers Market" are right up there. If none of the above are available? Then dried type are not so bad...if properly hydrated and prepped ahead of time. And for damn sure, they beat the canned type. Which are, better than nothing, I suppose...but not by much! LOL

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Well, sis, I can handle Wolf Brand chili...if for no other reason it is better than any other! LOL

But seriously, as to the black-eyed pea topic? As far as I am concerned, "canned" black-eyed peas rank right down there with not having them at all. And THAT, says something..

Fresh picked and home-shelled out of the garden are best. Bought the same from the "Farmers Market" are right up there. If none of the above are available? Then dried type are not so bad...if properly hydrated and prepped ahead of time. And for damn sure, they beat the canned type. Which are, better than nothing, I suppose...but not by much! LOL

Yep, very much agree. I don't like them that much to begin with, and canned just adds insult to injury. Just really, really naaasty.

I DO like fresh peas out of the garden, as my aunt used to make--just delicious, but almost impossible to find.

The next best is frozen, followed by dried, prepared at home. I had to resort to dried this year, as I couldn't find either fresh or frozen.

[BobTex]

I think I'll have my homegrown purple hulls ... they're more Texan anyway.

[lonestar2007]

Years ago, my aunt and uncle had a big farm in East Texas (Emory) and I remember he grew quite a few acres of purple hull peas. That man loved to eat those peas.

Once, when we were over and had dinner with them, my aunt had the table loaded down with every imaginable thing to eat (but peas). After the blessing was said, my uncle looked around and said, "Well, Dorothy, where's the peas?" LOL She had to get up and warm him up some peas. I think he ate them at almost every meal.

[KathrynAragon]

My dad gets a big glass out, crumbled corn bread into it (he prefers fried cornbread over baked), spoons a few spoonfuls of black eyed peas in on top, and then pours milk over it all.

I can deal with any of those items separately, and I like cornbread and milk as good as any other southern gal, but I can't do peas and milk together!

[ETex2]

No decent salt pork at the store the other day, but right beside them were some packages of smoked pork neck bones. So I picked up a package, hoping that they will be pretty good with the black-eyed peas. Anyone use these?

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I like cornbread and milk as good as any other southern gal, but I can't do peas and milk together!

I'm with you on that!

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

My dad gets a big glass out, crumbled corn bread into it (he prefers fried cornbread over baked), spoons a few spoonfuls of black eyed peas in on top, and then pours milk over it all.

I can deal with any of those items separately, and I like cornbread and milk as good as any other southern gal, but I can't do peas and milk together!

Whoa! I am in complete agreement with you on this! LOL

As I was reading this, that commercial for KFC popped into my head . . . the one where they were selling that bowl of all different foods just scooped in it. OMG Every time I saw that commercial I had to laugh . . . to me it looked like all the leftovers scraped into one bowl to be fed to the dog.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by BobTex

I'm with you on that!

Count me as part of this camp too! Like y'all say, cornbread and milk are great...but milk and black-eyed peas mixed up together -- and I had an uncle who did the same thing KatA speaks of -- is something close to being a parody of ourselves! LOL

P.S. BTW -- Just because some of us Texans/Southerners have certain eccentricities when it comes to foodstuff, doesn't mean yankees can get too snooty/uppity about it!