Esau's Hoppin' John

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package dried field peas or black-eyed peas
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 ounces fatback*
• 2 (8-ounce) smoked ham hocks
• 1 cup medium-size sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 cup water, divided
• 2 cups uncooked short-grain rice
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Chicken broth

Preparation

1. Place field peas in a Dutch oven; add water to cover 2 inches above peas. Bring to a boil, and boil 1 minute. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 1 hour. Drain peas, and set aside.
2. Place peeled garlic cloves and next 3 ingredients in the center of a large coffee filter; bring sides up, and tie with kitchen twine. Set garlic-and-herb bag aside.
3. Sauté fatback in Dutch oven over medium-low heat 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove fatback, reserving drippings in Dutch oven, and discard.
4. Add ham hock to Dutch oven, and cook 5 minutes or until skin becomes crispy and lean portion of the ham hock is tender. (Use the tines of a fork to test tenderness.)
5. Add onion and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours.
6. Bring remaining 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir in rice and 2 teaspoons salt. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set rice aside.
7. Add field peas, garlic-and-herb bag, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to ham hock mixture in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Remove and discard garlic-and-herb bag.
8. Stir cooked rice into field pea mixture; simmer 5 minutes or until heated through, adding broth, if necessary.
9. *Salt pork may be substituted.
10. Note: Esau uses a short-grain rice. He says you can substitute 4 cups of cooked long-grain rice, prepared according to package directions, but it will have a different texture.