Like most everyone else, New Year’s Day festivities start early…at least mine did. Today’s menu starts with a 14-pound brisket that has been injected with Fab B, rubbed with a Texas style concoction and lots of fresh cracked black pepper. The brisket was put in a zippie last night and left ‘til 7am this morning, when it went into a 250-degree cooker. Just in time for half-time(s) tonight, the brisket and some of Tex’s Texas rolls should make for some mighty tasty BBQ.

Depending on what part of the country you hail from, there are various traditions for the New Year that are supposed to bring Good Luck. In the South, that means eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day….the recipe for the black-eyed pea dish may vary according to taste. The brisket went in at 7am sharp. 7 is the magic number here…from 2000 to 2007, I had the same version of this dish every year. So…this year, I decided on making one up myself because I always thought the other one was “cheatin’”. Let me explain…

The previous recipe used canned black-eyed peas, canned rotel, and premade Italian sausage. I like the flavors, but missed that “from scratch” addition that always seems to make a recipe taste better.

Here is my recipe for New Year’s Black Eyed Peas…from scratch…

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas, picked over (when you toast in the New Year at midnight, put your peas in a bowl with about 6 cups of water…to soak over night)
2 cans chicken broth
2 ½ cans water
2 yellow onions, chopped (reserve one for the sausage you will make later)
2 t. white pepper
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
1 t. Santa Fe chili powder (or to taste)
1 Bay leaf
1 lb. plain bulk pork sausage (not Mild Italian, not Sweet Italian, etc…plain bulk pork sausage)
3 oz dark Rum...1 oz. for the beans...2 ozs. for testing the rum for taste (I prefer Cruzan Black Strap Rum)
4 oz homemade Salt Pork (recipe to follow)

Method:
Drain beans, rinse twice with cool water…in a colander. Put into a Dutch oven style pot and add the two cans of chicken broth, followed by approx, 2 ½ can of water (you want the liquid to be about an inch above the beans, so adjust accordingly). Set on high heat; add one of the rough chopped yellow onions. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Add the garlic and white pepper. Turn down to simmer. Add the homemade salt pork. Cook for approx. two hours stirring occasionally.

After the two hours, prepare your sausage as follows:
Brown in a skillet with no grease or oil. Add the Santa Fe Chili Powder
Stirring to break up bulk sausage. Half way through the browning process add the other chopped onion. When sausage is completely browned, place on a paper towel to drain grease. The inside of your frying pan should have a few crispy sausage bits, some onion, and whatever else that sticks to the pan. Taste the rum...if it is still drinkable de-glaze the pan with an ounce of the rum, stirring constantly for one minute. You should have about a T. of liquid left…pour this into the beans...and then re-taste the rum to make sure it was still drinkable.

Take the drained sausage and incorporate into the beans and add the bay leaf.

Simmer for another hour and remove bay leaf. Taste the broth for saltiness from time to time. When the broth is salted from the pork, just the way you like it, remove the salt pork. Mine has been cooking for 4 hours, and I still have my pieces of salt pork in the beans, so the cooking time may vary considerably according to taste. And as a side bar…I have had three bowls of beans already…and it’s not even noon! You can cook this as long as you wish. Remember, the beans will get mushy if left too simmer too long. It's a personal preference to how the beans should "feel".

Now for the recipe of the Salt Pork…Rick’s Homemade Salt Pork

(Disclaimer: This is not really salt pork, this is actually a small piece of pork loin and very salty. The next time you get those 2 to a package small pork loins, save one out and try this as a substitute for any recipe that calls for salt pork.)

To a cup of water, add ½ c. of Morton’s Tender Quick. Cut your pork loin to fit into a one-gallon baggie. Each piece at least 6 in long. Seal and place in refrigerator for 4 days, turning periodically. After the 4 days, rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Put it in a 180-degree smoker with light blue smoke for four hours. Let cool, and seal in a baggie. I have been using the same pork loin for 3 months…whenever I need to flavor soups, stews, or gumbos I cut a chunk or two off the original loin.




So there you have it…my menu for a satisfying New Year’s Day…oh…I forgot to mention…but I will now…remember the article on those special cherries we did last summer and froze…Tex has promised to do these special cherries in one of her homemade pies, and if it is anything like her homemade apple pie, or homemade peach pie…it promises to be a very special New Year’s Day.

I am raising my glass to ya'll.

Happy New Year's Everybody! May you have good health and prosper in 2010! (After that, you are on your own!)