Black-Eyed Pea and Pork Gumbo Recipe (2024)

I make a variation on this, but I prefer swiss chard to the collards. And since we like our gumbo heavy on vegetables, I increase the celery and peppers to a cup each minimum and I use much less pork...sometimes I just add sliced pan seared andouille at the end for a pop of flavor. Or I leave out the pork and top with crisped crumbled prosciutto for a lighter version. No file, not with the okra.

Sure! Gumbo Z'Herbes... a mess of greens in a roux, pretty darn good. And basically a gumbo is a stew made with a thickener, be it a roux, file, or okra, or a combination (I like a chocolate-brown roux and okra). Then add whatever you'd put in a veggie stew. How about sweet potatoes, peppers, maybe some black beans or even chickpeas? Use your imagination!

Yes! Deborah Madison has an excellent red bean gumbo with greens in her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” cookbook. It’s absoluetly delicious and even non-vegetarians will enjoy it.

Although I haven't cooked this particular recipe, I have made plenty of rouxs for gumbo and other dishes. With high enough heat, it does not take very long (I've seen some recipes that say 45 minutes, which is crazy). For an excellent discussion of roux and the different stages and colors, see Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook (I believe it was his first one).

One cup of beans, 3/4 lb okra, cup of collards and 1and 1/2 lbs pork are lost in so much stock 3qts!!?

To make a very dark roux I use the microwave. The method is given in the book Tout de Suite a la Microwave by Jean Durkee. The advantages of using the microwave are speed and control. That said, even with a very dark roux your gumbo will not be as dark as the pictured gumbo. To achieve this color add a tablespoon or so of Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce. It adds a nice flavor to the gumbo too.

I believe that green gumbo was always a Lenten specialty - maybe it still is - in New Orleans. I have a recipe in a N.O. cookbook titled, "Talk About Good." Love to see a comment from someone who lives there about this and would know more.

It takes exactly two 12-ounce cans (or bottles) of your favorite beer to make a roux. Consume slowly while constantly stirring the roux. If you substitute pints instead of 12 ounce beers, the roux will be noticeably darker - the color of chocolate.

The stew appeared broken until I added the okra, then melded beautifully. I used smoked pork from Corky's in Memphis and it turned out quite tasty.

I used chicken sausage and 1 can black beans instead of pork. For the veggies, I wanted to increase the volume so used: 1 leek, 2 big celery sticks, 1 onion, 2 red peppers, 1 bunch collard greens (no okra). Sauteéd the beggies briefly before incorporating. Used a little less flour and oil (2/3 cup) and would probably do 1/2 cup next time; roux + gumbo filé makes it very thick.Lighter on the cayenne too...

Diane refers below to Paul Prudhomme's "Lousiana Kitchen." I still have a first printing from 1984. (Might part with it for a year's wages!) Accept this: black roux is real. "Louisiana Kitchen" basically says it's essential. But it is darned hard to pull off. By Prudhomme's smoking-hot method, "dark red-brown to black" is done in 2-4 minutes! Starting over when it's ruined is part of the instructions, which I have followed more often than not.

Didn't use 3/4 cups of oil for roux, closer to 1/4 cup and adjusted amount of flour accordingly. Didn't allow roux to get as dark as shown, I stopped at deep reddish/brown. Used homemade smoked chicken instead of pork. Added andouille sausage. I kind of missed having shrimp in it; will def add shrimp next time. Used leftover collards & canned black eyed peas. Served with rice and cornbread.

You could take this recipe and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and use a shredded protein meat substitute. I'd also add some mushroom to add umami or butter to improve mouth feel.

FYI Talk About Good cookbook is a Lafayette, Louisiana book. not New Orleans. Originally published in 1967 I think.

The New Year’s Pork, Collard and Blackeye Pea Gumbo recipe on the Camellia brand beans website is similar to this recipe.

While I was excited by this recipe, just didn’t work for me… felt like I wasted a lot of pulled pork, my braised collards have a sweetness, that didn’t work with this. While I’ve been to Cochon, and like their food… won’t be making this recipe again.

Loved this. I used boneless country-style pork ribs that I cut up & browned & put aside when I started the roux. Used bacon for smoky note. Added pork back when broth went into pot (only 2 quarts needed). Wanted more beans so I used a half a bag of dried black eyes peas that I had soaked overnight. Didn’t have collards & didn’t miss them.

Granted, I used a smoky sausage in place of smoked pork butt. But the gumbo was... fine? A bit flavorless all told, which would have earned it a B+ except for the sheer amount of palaver involved, which drops it to a solid C-.

Instructing people to cook a roux over medium high heat is INSANE. It will be chocolate colored in 2 minutes!!! This recipe needs some serious work to be good.

If using 3 quarts liquid - cooking time needs to increase to 2hrs to allow the sauce to thicken. Great dish!

This recipe has potential. But I agree with Kathy: too much stock unless you have some delicious stock to work with. Came out too thin and slightly oily. I would do it again and cut to 2 quarts of stock and make the roux with half cup of AP and oil

Am I reading right that the recipe is having you add the filé with the spices? I am not a Louisianan but was always taught that you add it only at the end and don’t bring it to a boil or it will turn stringy. (I’ve also heard gumbo should have okra or filé but not both but no idea if that’s a hard and fast rule.)

The most perfect way to celebrate New Years in Louisville inspired by New Orleans. This recipe takes A LOT of time. Make sure to plan on doing beans and marinating at night. Start early! It takes longer than you think! Share with your guests the history of the dish and the hope for the new year!

My first time making gumbo. I reduced the recipe by 1/3 but added more peas. I used leftover ham, and cooked 1 cup of dry blackeyes myself, which I added to the gravy before the end so they could absorb some of its lovely flavor. I also tasted and salted at each step. I used fresh red mustards from the garden without cooking them first, and frozen okra, which I pan-roasted. It was absolutely delicious, and my husband, who normally eschews okra, had three bowls.

Wanted to make 4 servings (2 for now, 2 for leftovers). Used half the roux ingredients. Full amounts of vegetable trinity. 2 quarts of good chicken stock, half the spices. 2 bunches of Swiss chard for greens. More black-eyed peas. 4 smoked boneless pork chops, because that is what the butcher shop had for smoked pork. Served with corn bread. A winner on all counts. Totally delicious, and a quart of left overs.

We smoked a chicken instead of pork and it was really great. We also increased the amount of okra to add a little more southern veggie taste to it. Overall, I loved this recipe. I tried to make the roux pretty dark and then when I added the stock, I heated up the pot to make sure the roux liquified well into the stock.

Reduce stock to 2 quarts and let it all thicken more to a stew-like consistency rather than the soupy result here. Otherwise delicious.

Green gumbo in New Orleans is called Gumbo Z’herbes. The classic recipe appears in June Soniat’s highly respected cookbook, “la Bouche Creole”. It contains turnip, mustard, collard, kale, and spinach greens, cabbage, and numerous spices. It is absolutely delicious. Augmented with sausage, ham, smoked turkey or oysters. I make it often. Freezes well too!

We celebrate the new year with black-eyes, greens, pork, rice, and sweet potatoes. We were intent upon upholding tradition yet investing minimal work and using left-overs. We used cans of prepared greens, black-eyes, and okra. We boiled the Christmas hambone until the meat fell off the bone. We used the ham stock and added sweet potato chunks and served with requisite corn bread. Superb! Limit the stock for richer roux. Keep the fresh okra; add it directly. Simmer all day. Yummy.

Agreed about the stock. We just did 8 cups and it was a great consistency.