Ingredients:

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1/2 pound bacon strips, cooked and chopped
3 tablespoons of bacon fat
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz. of dark beer (a lager, or a bock, or something with flavor. Don’t use a pilsner or an IPA, and for Pete’s sake, don’t use a Bud Light. Get a real beer.)
3-4 cups of chicken stock

Directions:

Soak the black-eyed peas overnight in water to soften them up. Drain and rinse the next day.
In a skillet, cook your bacon until it’s tender, but not crispy, and the fat has rendered. Remove from the skillet and give it a rough chop, so that the bacon pieces are small and more or less even.
Reserve three tablespoons of bacon fat and drop your garlic, onion, and bell pepper in. Stir to coat the veggies, and let them sweat for a few minutes. Add the butter and fresh thyme and cook until veggies are tender and the onions are clear.
Add your black-eyed peas to a stock pot and add the chicken stock until the beans are covered and liquid is about 2-3 inches above the beans. Add the sautéed veggies, the bacon, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and let the beans simmer for two hours. Check the water level occasionally. After two hours, uncover, add the beer, a lot of salt and pepper, and taste. Beans should be tender, not firm. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or so, checking on beans until they mash easily against the side of the pot.

Note: you can add as much bacon and beer as you want to this recipe.