Hoppin' John

Classic recipes born in poverty can be revised to take advantage of things we take for granted. in particular, many dishes traditionally cooked in one pot benefit from separation. on the other hand, we should respect timeless combinations of flavors and textures. ain't nothing like the real thing.

Pork

off cuts are authentic because this was a slave's dish, but i prefer bacon. ham hocks can taste a bit coarse and deboning them is a chore. i always have salt pork on hand, but it would require rinsing.

in general, do not buy packaged bacon unless it's deeply discounted and reasonably lean. packaged ends/pieces can be easier to use and always cost less than slices. when a butcher displays the lean end of a slab, buy all of it.

for this dish, i want bite-sized pieces. jowl bacon is apt. a lean chunk produced for immigrants is not and these are often too dry, but it's important to try things.

there are recipes that call for pork loin or smoked turkey. at some point, the dish stops being Hoppin' John.

Beans

tl;dr: don't substitute.

before internet usage became common, substituting black-eyed peas for cowpeas like Goya's was reasonable. now we know that access to information doesn't help.

Goya's Nutrition Facts label reveals that cowpeas are sweeter than usual: 3 g sugar per 42 g (25 g total carbohydrate). i might risk substituting adzuki beans, but hope this never happens. cowpeas are near the top of the list of things i always have, as important as chocolate and toilet paper.

during a pandemic-induced outage, my search included a visit to another store with African clientele. i doubt that the owner's phone strayed from her head that often, and won't forget the if-i-had-a-nickel tone she used to deliver her out-of-stock report.

Grains

tl;dr: just do it.

rice is not a critical ingredient here. various grains work, as long as they're cooked separately.

i always have cooked (brown) rice blended with (hulled) barley on hand. i think about making rice specifically for this dish but never do. barley doesn't improve Hoppin' John and it isn't historically correct, but it's appropriate because people ate it when they couldn't afford wheat (cf. Rachel Laudan's Cuisine and Empire).

Vegetables

tl;dr: don't.

recipes were vague when Hoppin' John first appeared in print, so i assumed that recipe was missing ingredients. in particular, i assumed it should also contain onion.

for a while, i was too lazy to buy an onion for this dish. eventually, i discovered that it doesn't help. it impacts the texture, and the dish is fairly sweet already.

add carrot or onion only if forced to substitute for cowpeas. true Hoppin' John is majestic and profound. it is soul food.

Preparation

based on the directions i've seen, making this in one pot is tricky and a bit wasteful. cooking the grains separately is easier, and using more cookware has other advantages.

render the bacon in a pot. putting a little oil in first minimizes sticking, but do this only if the bacon is especially lean. this is the best time to add any herbs and spices, because essential oils are fat-soluble. (if forced to substitute for cowpeas, put the chopped carrot/onion on top of the bacon.) use the lowest available heat setting and put a lid on the pot to prevent moisture loss.

drain the soaked cowpeas, and add them with enough water to cover. continue cooking with the lowest heat setting. cooking cowpeas overnight is reasonable, so preparing the bacon earlier, removing from heat, and then restarting the process can simplify scheduling.

remove from heat and chill to solidify the bacon fat. if it's cold enough outside, the pot can be moved there directly. otherwise, let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

dry the cooked grains by gently cooking them with the solidified fat, preferably in a cast iron skillet. oil may also be used, especially if there isn't enough bacon fat. cheap, extra virgin olive oil is perfect here.

covering a skillet with a lid makes it behave like a small oven. (this is the best way to reheat pizza, partly because the skillet's spouts act as steam vents.) when drying grains for Hoppin' John, the lid should be off-center. (my dictionary says a lid cannot be ajar :-) the lowest heat setting is too low for this, but that heat source is reheating the beans.

warm a portion of cooked grains in the greased/oiled skillet as-is for a few minutes. then, gently flatten this mass with the back of a large spoon. it will be easy to break up the flattened mass a few minutes later. the grains don't dry evenly, so stir them once or twice. if crust forms, you're cooking well.

assembly is just mixing the dried grains with the bacon-beans mixture. there are two ways to do this. if there are enough dried grains, add them to the bean pot. this entails gauging the amount of rice, its dryness, and the amount of liquid in the pot. surprisingly easy, but there's a better way.

Service

the reward for successfully assembling all the ingredients is a dish that becomes glop in the refrigerator. the alternative is assembling them as needed. this technique led to a Crazy Idea™ ...

a friend changed careers and became a chef. she had a high-level agreement that would have let her borrow a venue with a kitchen, but that pop-up dinner didn't happen. my idea was to help her establish herself by teaching her to serve Hoppin' John at a New Year's Day dinner for restaurant workers. accompanying beverages would be two white wines (sparking and still), one beer, mineral water, and coffee.

after drying grains for imminent service, add (warm) beans and liquid. the amount of liquid is determined by the quantity of grains and their moisture level. if they are shrunken, they will absorb more flavor (maybe not what you want).

cover the skillet to facilitate rehydrating the grains. i let the food rest in the (covered) skillet as it cools before serving. good things come to those who wait.

arrange an appropriate number of bacon pieces on top of each serving. for extra credit, offer an optional garnish: sliced scallions or gremolata. such embellishment isn't traditional, but the dish benefits from a bright/sharp accent.

if my friend hadn't changed careers again, i wouldn't have published this article.