Black Eyed Peas, Cabbage and Ham

Yesterday I made our usual New Year’s Day meal.

For the black eyed peas, I soaked them overnight, then cooked them in the Instant Pot for 12 minutes. Any time I smoke a brisket or a pork butt, I’ll save any fatty parts that we aren’t going to eat, vacuum seal them then toss them in the tub I keep in the freezer for “meat for seasoning”.

I used that in the peas.

When I go to Louisiana, I bring back as much sausage as I can fit in a cooler or two. If I’m going with Nicole, we usually each have a cooler in the car. If Vince and I are going, we have a dog crate (or two) in the car so I’m almost always limited to what will fit in one cooler. One of the places I buy sausage, they wrap it in butcher paper by the pound so when I get home with it, I freeze it in individual links for things like cabbage when I don’t need a lot of sausage.

I told Vince that if I use four or five pounds of sausage to make canned red beans, we’re going to need to make a trip to Louisiana. I’m not sure Oscar is quite ready for that trip. Vince said “We can order it and pay for the overnight shipping”. I told him . . better yet, let’s make our own. That’s why we bought a bigger smoker – to make sausage. Maybe in the spring, before it gets too hot, we can try our luck at making something at least close to the sausage we buy in Louisiana.