Thursday, January 2, 2014

Why the traditional meal of collards, black-eyed peas, hog jowl and cornbread for New Year’s Day.

    What hog jowl is, is, by J.A. Bolton Storyteller


      I hope your family will be enjoying the traditional meal of collards, black-eyed peas, hog jowl and cornbread for New Year’s Day.
      I thought in today’s column I would try to explain some of the folklore and customs behind the delicious meal we observe here in the south on New Year’s.

      I probably need to explain what a hog jowl is.
      Some of our Yankee friends have never heard of this cut of pork.
      It’s the cheek of the hog.
      It tastes and cooks similar to thick cut bacon.
      It’s a tough cut that is typically smoked and cured.
      Hog jowl is used to season beans and peas or fried like bacon.

      Hogs and pigs have long been a symbol of wealth and gluttony.
      It’s why we say “someone is being a pig” when they take more than their share.
      Some people believe that
        the more pork you eat for New Year’s,
          the better your luck will be in the coming year.

      So WHY hog jowl?
        The short answer is that we eat cured pork because it’s winter time.
      Hog jowl is a cured meat which stores well over long periods and it’s always been cheap.
      Plus it goes well with black-eyed peas and collard greens.

      Most southerners will tell you that the humble black-eye dates back to the Civil War.
        Black-eye peas were considered as animal feed (pea vine hay).
      When General Sherman’s Union troops came through, it was said that
        what they couldn’t use they burnt.
      Lucky for the south the Union Army didn’t know much about the black-eye peas,
        and that’s what southern people lived off of for the winter.
      Peas became a symbol of coppers or pennies.
      My folks said that for every pea you ate, it would bring you a penny.
      Folks say you should eat exactly 365 peas on New Year’s
        if’n you want enough to make it through the coming year.
      If you ate more it would mean
        you would lose one for as many days.
      I reckon it all goes back to making a pig of yourself.

      Want to get rich this year?
      Here in the south, collard greens and cornbread bring in the big bucks.
        Collards are a late crop and are mostly grown here in the south.
        Heard the saying “boil them cabbage down” ?
        The same goes for collards since it’s part of the cabbage family.
        The traditional way to cook collards
          is to strip the leaves from the stem of the collard leaves,
          wash several times,
          cut up and place them in a big pot with bits of hog jowl or a ham hock.
          When tender, remove from the pot and drain off the pot licker.
        I’ll tell you more about the pot licker in another story.

        For the best cornbread,
          use a cup of self rising cornmeal,
          half cup of flour,
          a pinch of sugar and salt,
          one egg,
          half cup of milk nd a handful of pork cracklins.
        Mix all the ingredients together.
        Grease an old cast iron frying pan and place it in an oven at 400 degrees.
        Cook for about 20 minutes but turn over after 10 minutes.
        It should come out golden brown on both sides.

        I know the doctor is going to say that eating this way will run up your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, but what the heck.
        You need to start off enjoying the New Year.
        Don’t forget that
          pork is for luck,
            peas for pennies,
              collard greens for dollars
                and cornbread for gold.

        Hope you have a happy and prosperous new year
          and don’t forget to live, ... love ... and laugh.

      Now for a recipe from Black-Eyed Peas and Hog Jowl - New Year's Day Tradition .

        This is not culinary masterpiece. Having it once a year will be fine for most.
        But, it’s tradition, fun to do, and it's for good luck. It can't hurt.
        I served mine with some picked onions I made a year or so back.

          Ingredients
            1 small slab of Hog Jowl
            1 15 ounce can Black-Eyed Peas
            Salt
            Freshly ground Black Pepper

        Cut the hog jowl into thin bacon like strips.
        In a large skillet, fry hog jowl over medium low to medium heat until desired doneness and crispness.
        Place hog jowl on a platter lined with paper towel to drain.
        During this time, heat black eyes peas in a sauce pan over medium heat until hot.
        Season to taste with salt and pepper.

        Serves good luck for 365 days
        I find hog howl in a whole piece.
        But, I have read on other blogs where they have found it pre-sliced.
        I have never found it that way.
        If you slightly freeze your hog jowl, it will make slicing it a little easier – about 20 minutes in your freezer.
        You will get a good amount of fat renderings from the hog jowl and if you fry it too hot a lot of smoke.

      Here's the Southern Style Collard Greens
      But I disagree with their cooking time for good greens, because 45 minutes is just too short, and I recommend about 2 and one half to three hours cooking time, with a little splash of apple vinegar.
      Click on the link to get it,
      and if the greens taste too strong, just dump the water, rinse them, and add new water and cook a little longer.


      You can find Southern-Style Cornbread here.

      And you can get some stone ground whole corn meal here or here at Kymulga Grist Mill.


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