This is a fairly easy recipe to make a version of Hoppin' John's that I use quite often and it is very good while taking a lot of cook time off of other recipes. Here are the items you will need. I won't put quantities on the additives on here because you will need to eyeball them.
1.) 2 cans of blackeyed peas
2.) 1 pound of Andouille Sausage (polska kielbasa will work if you don't want it too spicy)
3.) 1 large carton of Beef Stock
4.) 1 large onion
5.) 1 stick of butter
6.) 3 cloves of garlic (I use 4 tbsp of pre-minced garlic)
7.) Hot Sauce
8.) Cayenne Pepper
9.) Worcestershire Sauce
10.) Smoked Paprika
11.) Oregano
12.) Basil
13.) Thyme
14.) Garlic Powder
15.) Salt
16.) Black Pepper
17.) 2 Cups of Cooked Rice
18.) 1 12 oz. Beer
The first thing you need to do is dice the large onion and put it in a pan with the melted stick of butter and add sliced or diced sausage right after the onion. Once onions are transparent and sausage is browned, pour a quarter of the beer into the pan to deglace. This should be done on low heat because you don't want to burn the beer in the pan. Line the pot you will cook this in with olive oil and add the sausage and onion mixture, the rest of the beer, the carton of beef stock, the peas and the seasonings that I had above. I personally use either Louisianna Brand or Frank's Red Hot Sauce but if you use tobasco you might want to use less as its a little hotter. Please refrain from using Texas Pete for this recipe. Even though the taste is good, it doesn't taste right in this recipe. I use probably 4 tbsp of Hot Sauce or more because I like a kick, put less in if you can't handle the pain. Just a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce will work. About a tbsp of Cayenne and just add the dry ingredients as you feel necessary. It will turn out well. Just experiment with it. Cover and simmer this soup like mixture for about an hour on low heat until all the flavors have married in and the alcohol has cooked out of it. Add the cooked rice into the soup and stir until there isn't any more standing liquid and all rice is coated and let the mixture bake in the oven for about 10 minutes and you are ready to chow down. I also like to eat this stuff with some good cajun style cornbread or garlic toast. This is true southern comfort food at its best and is very tasty.
Enjoy :)
