As another year comes to a close, special guest Richard wants to share the crown jewel Southern dish for New Year’s Day.
Make that TWO dishes – BOTH of which promise good luck and good fortune for the new year!
Black-Eyed Peas represent the coins you’ll earn in the new year (don’t forget to add the penny!), while Collard Greens represent the dollar bills. Both are flavored with pork, another lucky dish, and are best accompanied by cornbread, which represents gold.
And what sets these apart by making them in your Instant Pot vs. the stove means cutting the time down a TON while eliminating the need to pre-soak the beans overnight AND tending to a simmering stove! And it’s SURE to bring some wonderful, home-cooked flavor into your new year!Here’s How I Made It!:
We’ll begin with the Collard Greens. Start with some nicely rinsed collards…
…discard the stalks and cut them up into small pieces (kitchen shears work best).
Then we’ll take some garlic…
…and dice it up.
And then play with an onion…
…and dice that up too.
Now we’ll take some pork belly (or you can use a ham hock, bacon or even a smoked turkey leg)
…and cut it into small chunks (remove the fatty pad from it).
Now go to the Instant Pot and sauté the pork belly for only a moment until some of the grease is released (don’t heavily cook the pork belly – that’ll happen when we pressure cook).
Next we’ll want to take some ham base/broth (you can use chicken, beef or vegetable broth if you prefer, but ham is best for this!)…
…and add it to the pot.
Add in that garlic…
…onion…
…and stir.
Lastly, top it all off with the collards but don’t stir it in. Press it down with a spoon to fit if you have more. Secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
When done, the collards will have cooked down tenderly and it will smell like a Southern kitchen! (Note: they may smell a little pungent when quick releasing. That means you’ve made ’em right!)
Add in a little kosher salt…
…give it a final stir and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
When ready to serve, plate it up…
…and add in a little pepper sauce if you feel so inclined (this, as you can see, is a lot different from a pepper sauce like Tabasco)…
…and feed it to a loved one.Now it depends on if you have two Instant Pots or one, but you can simultaneously cook the Collards with the Black-Eyed Peas if you do have two. If only one, simply cook the collards first, then then peas and then re-heat the collards when done.
When it’s time to make the Black-Eyed Peas, take both some ham broth/base and some chicken broth/base (like with the collards, you can use only chicken, beef or vegetable broth if you prefer, but the using ham does make a difference in our book!)
Add the broth to the pot.
Take a bag of dried, black-eyed peas (don’t use a can) and add it to the pot…
…along with more pork belly…
…and onion.
Stir well.
Now comes the most important part – the part that brings you luck – THE PENNY! Add a nice, shiny (clean) penny to that pot, secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
When done, it’s going to smell and look like the Southern Belle of peas.
Plate some up…
…add in some Chow Chow (aka Southern relish) if you so desire.
AND if you want to make things even more interesting, add in a little dollop of a good mayonnaise.
Mix together…
…feed to one another…
…and see who gets that penny!Happy New Year to each and every one of you! May you all get what you long for in the new year with peace, health and happiness being at the forefront. ??
Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens go hand-in-hand in the South. A perfecft side for many a meal, they're also perfect to wake-up to on New Year's Day for some good luck.
Ingredients
For The Collard Greens
- 1-1.5 lbs of collard greens, rinsed thoroughly (they could have dirt on them), bottom stalks removed and cut into small pieces (kitchen shears work wonders for this)
- Half a large white onion, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1/2 lb (1 thick strip) of pork belly, fat padding removed and cut into small chunks
- 4 cups of Ham Broth (I used 4 tsp of Ham Better Than Bouillon + 4 cups of water – you can use chicken, beef or vegetable broth instead if you prefer, but Ham Broth is magical here)
- 1/2 tsp of kosher salt
- A few dashes of Pepper Sauce, for topping when plated (optional and not the same as Tabasco sauce)
For The Black-Eyed Peas
- 1 lb bag of dried black-eyed peas
- 3 cups of Chicken Broth ( I used 1 tbsp of Chicken Better Than Bouillon + 3 cups of water)
- 3 cups of Ham Broth (I used 1 tbsp of Ham Better Than Bouillon + 3 cups of water – you can use 6 cups of chicken broth instead if you don’t have the ham, but like with the collards, I assure you, this makes it so much more special)
- Half a large white onion, diced
- 1/2 lb (1 thick strip) of pork belly, fat padding removed and cut into small chunks
- Sweet (or hot if you want it spicy) Chow Chow, for topping when plated (optional – this is basically a southern-style relish)
- Mayonnaise (We used Duke’s), for topping when plated (optional)
Instructions
Make The Collard Greens
- On the Instant Pot, hit “Sauté” and “Adjust” so it’s on the “Normal” or “Medium” setting. When the pot display reads “Hot,” add the pork belly and stir for 1 minute. Don’t let it cook too long. Just enough for the pork belly to sweat and release some grease
- Add in the broth, onion, garlic and finish with the collard greens. Press the greens down good so they’re fully in the pot and don’t worry if they are too close to the lid – they cook down significantly. Do not stir them up with the broth
- Secure the lid, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and select “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 60 minutes. Perform a quick release when done (Note: they may smell a little pungent when quick releasing. That means you’ve made ’em right!)
- Add in the kosher salt and stir. Let cool for 10 minutes, plate and top with the pepper sauce if desired
- Enjoy!
Make The Black-Eyed Peas
- Add the broth, pork belly, onion and black-eyed peas to the Instant Pot. Stir well
- Add in a clean penny for good luck
- Secure the lid and select “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 30 minutes. Allow a 30 minute natural release when done and follow with a quick release
- Stir everything, let cool for 10 minutes (it will thicken up when really cooled down), plate and top with some Chow Chow and a little mayonnaise if desired and mix together well
- Enjoy and whoever gets the penny in their bowl should prosper extra well this year!
Jeffrey's Tips
You can also totally use leftover holiday ham if you have it instead of the pork belly. Just toss it in the pot and cook it as is.
If you have two Instant Pots, you can cook these simultaneously and they should be done at the same time since the cooking time is the same for each (60 min pressure cook/quick release for the Collard Greens; 30 min pressure cook/30 min natural release for the Black-Eyed Peas). If you have one Instant Pot, start with the collards, store them when done and then cook with the peas. When ready to serve, warm the collards up real quick before serving. Of course, you can choose to make just one instead of both as well!
Want it vegetarian or vegan? Skip the pork belly and ham base! Just use vegetable or mock-chicken base instead!
For the Collard Greens, some like to use bacon, a ham hock or a smoked turkey leg instead of the pork belly which is totally fine. If using bacon, just sauté it for 3 minutes until it a bit cooked and grease is released and then add the broth. If using the ham hock or smoked turkey leg, there’s no need to sauté – just add it into the pot before adding the broth and then shred the meat from the bone into the cooked collards once done.
These taste best when cooled down after 10 minute of setting. That’s when the flavors really come together!
Mia
Greetings
Is the long cook time to help absorb the cups of liquid? I’ve seen other recipes with less cook time and liquid.
Jeffrey
This timing makes it perfect. Trust!
Ednorah
We do the same for New Years Day, but we also make a pot of Chicken and Dumplings.(With the flat dumplings, not balls of dough. Yummy.
Amy
I’m so glad to see that someone else puts mayonnaise in their black eyed peas. Must try this recipe!
Heather
Can you use turnip greens instead of collard greens ? Would you adjust cooking time etc? Thanks
John
Hi Jeffrey,
I tried this recipe for my homegrown collards, but adjusted the time to 30 minutes for the cook time. It turned out very well. Next time I will adjust the liquid back to 3 cups from your 4. I appreciate pot likker as much as anyone, but the recipe seemed to yield a bit too much. Had I made cornbread, instead of freezing the servings, that would have been a good accompaniment.
Bonnie Craft
So nice to see Richard doing the cooking. You can tell he knows his way around the IP. Great job Richard! Hope to see more of you in the kitchen in the New Year. Happy New Year Jeff, Richard and of course Banjo!!
Gary Kaetzel
I see that I’ve missed this recipe! Not any more! I’ve never used ham base because I haven’t been the biggest fan of ham but I will get a jar of the ham base for this one! I never had greens so this will be an education and a new experience! Glad to see Richard be the star! I haven’t since, so maybe he didn’t like it but that’s ok! I have the perfect face and body for radio myself! Thanks for another excellent recipe!!!!! Best wishes to you, Richard, and Banjo! Take care, all!
Rachel Troute
I made the collards yesterday and they were fantastic. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Pam
This recipe is great for both the blackeyed peas and the greens! I definitely used the ham base, it is indeed magical!
Natha S Hancock
Tried the collards and they taste delicious but the cook time is way off. I cooked mine 45 minutes and they were too soft. I will only pressure 30 minutes next time. Also, I am an Alabama girl so I am used to southern style collards. Love your recipes.
Vicky
These collards were fantastic! I just bought a bag of the collards already chopped up at Publix and followed your directions! Thank you for this great recipe! Tonight I’m making the black eyed peas 😃Happy New Year Jeffery, Richard and Banjo ❤️
Jeffrey
Richard would be proud!