Online Recipe Book

Hoppin John

Source
Adapted from American Classics, by America's Test Kitchen, c2002, p100
Yield
2-3 main course servings
Prep info
20 min prep + 20 min cook + 20 min bake + 25 min bake + 5 min rest
Prep time
Not set
Cook time
1 hour, 30 minutes
Time required
1 hour, 30 minutes
Oven preheat
375F
Type
Mains - Misc
Status
Tried
Tags

Ingredients

  • butter (for greasing baking dish)
  • 2 t oil
  • 3 oz diced ham (or gammon, 1/2" dice, about 3/4 cup)
  • 2 oz diced bacon (about 2 slices, 1/2" dice)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste, as desired)
  • 1 c diced onion
  • 1/2 c diced shallot (80g; or another scant 1/2 cup diced onion + 2 tsp minced garlic [80g onion + 5g garlic])
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 c long grain rice (white, uncooked)
  • Seasonings:
  • 3/4 t Salt (Sea)
  • 3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 t ancho chile powder
  • 1/2 t paprika
  • 1/2 t chili powder
  • 1/8 t cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 t dried thyme
  • 1/4 t dried oregano
  • 1/2 t dried sage
  • 1/8 t ground rosemary
  • 1/4 t garlic powder
  • 1/8 t onion powder
  • The Rest:
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1.5 c chicken stock (low-sodium)
  • 200 g canned chopped tomatoes (7oz; drained; one-half can, so approximately this much)
  • 5 oz cooked black-eyed peas (also called black-eyed beans; either buy frozen, then thaw and rinse them, or cook them from dried; canned ones are too mushy for this recipe)
  • 1 T minced parsley (fresh)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Heat the oil until shimmering in an ovensafe medium pot (3qt/3L) over medium-high heat.  Toss the ham with the pepper.  Add the ham to the pan and cook until fat has rendered, about 6 minutes.  Add the bacon and cook until slightly crisp, about 3 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the ham and bacon from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

3. Spoon off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pot and return to heat.  Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion and shallot; saute, stirring frequently, until softened, 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer.  Stir in the rice and seasonings and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is coated and glistening, about 1 minute longer.  Set rice mixture aside in a bowl.

4. Return the pot to the heat; add the chicken stock and bay leaf.  Increase the heat to medium-high, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Add the black-eyed peas, ham, and bacon; bring to a boil, and add the rice mixture, stirring to combine.

5. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir the rice (if the rice appears too dry, add 1/4 cup water), re-cover, and cook until the rice is fully tender, 20-25 minutes more.  Remove the dish from the oven.  Stir in the parsley, re-cover the dish, and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Notes

SJ Note 15 Apr 2012: This was a good start.  We had it as a one-dish meal, and it was just enough for two (quite hungry) people; to stretch it to three, you'd need side dishes, or less hungry people.  It needs more seasoning, so I've added that into the recipe, and upped the salt a bit - be careful with the salt, based on how salty your broth, ham, and bacon are; you probably want to start with less and add more if needed in future makings of this dish.  We'll have it again in the future - it wasn't difficult, and made quite a good dinner, once we added more seasoning.

SJ Note 31 Dec 2012: Added a whole bunch of seasonings this time.  Came out just a tad too hot (spicy), so I've cut that back a bit, but otherwise what's recorded above is what we did.

SJ Note 1 Jan 2014: It was too seasoned.  Need to cut back next time.

SJ Note 9 June 2014: Have copied seasonings from the Vegetarian Cajun Hoppin John recipe, since they were less.  Will try again!

SJ Note 10 June 2014: Good! Needs more salt, pepper, and heat; have adjusted above.