Canning Black Eye Peas

Hello again, friends! I seem to be on a dried bean canning and Good Girl Moonshine making frenzy lately!

Last year I canned and blogged about canning black eye peas without soaking first. I was also canning collards. Oddly enough it was in preparation for New Year's Day! You can read about that here.

I got so excited about being able to do those peas in such a quick and easy way, I totally forgot to sort or rinse them. I haven't eaten them. What if I bite down on a rock and break a tooth?? heehee!

Anyway, fast forward to this December. I decided to try my peas again. This time making sure they were sorted and rinsed to make sure they were as clean as possible. Have you ever imagined where your dried beans have been or what they have touched? eww! Hmm! One would think this city girl on the farm would have gotten over that by now. Give me credit! I am a whole lot better than I used to be! :D

Let's begin! Of course, I started by sorting and rinsing really well three pounds of peas. I let those soak overnight (12-18 hours is recommended). When I was ready to begin, I got my canner ready, warming the water a little and getting my broth heating to boil.

Into each quart jar, I scooped two cups of peas and a small slice of cured salt pork (Ham could also be used.) For my pints, I used one cup of peas. *

I filled my jars with a boiling broth/water mixture to one inch head space. You can use plain boiling water, straight boiling broth, or any ratio of the two. I didn't have enough broth to do all my beans so I did about half and half, maybe a little more water than broth. If using plain water, you can add 1 teaspoon of salt to quarts and 1/2 teaspoon to pints if you wish.

Lastly, air bubbles were removed and the jar rim was wiped clean. I placed warm lids and rings on the jar to seal and placed the jar into the canner. I repeated the process until the canner was full. The quarts were processed for 90 minutes at 10 psi. Pints were processed for 75 minutes at 10 psi. Make sure to adjust pressure for your altitude.

Filling the jars the way I did, this was my total yield from the three pounds of beans. *I had never canned soaked peas before, and my peas had not soaked for a full twelve hours even though I soaked overnight. I didn't want to overfill the jars not knowing how they would do. I would have been fine adding a litte more beans to the jars. You can experiment with what works best for you. Make sure not to overfill, though. This site is very helpful. As you will notice, I skipped the boiling step after soaking. That was another reason for not wanting to add too many beans to my jar. For your safety, you want to make sure the contents of the jar can heat through properly.

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So, there you go, my friends! It was easy peasy! What is your favorite way to can black eye peas? If you will be trying them for the first time, let me know how it goes! Feel free to share in the comments! Happy canning!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

*Follow USDA canning guidelines to ensure safety of all home-canned foods.