Hoppin' John
Photo: Srjenkins · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Hoppin' John is a Gullah-Geechee staple of West African origin, brought to the Sea Islands and Carolina rice plantations through the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The earliest printed recipe appears in Sarah Rutledge's 1847 Charleston cookbook The Carolina Housewife. Traditional versions use Sea Island red peas or field peas with Carolina Gold rice, slow-cooked with smoked ham hock. The plate is eaten on New Year's Day across the South for prosperity, paired with collards (for money) and cornbread. Glenn Roberts at Anson Mills in Columbia has spent thirty years restoring heirloom Carolina Gold rice; that rice now anchors versions at Husk and FIG.

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Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g dried Sea Island red peas or black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
  • 1 smoked ham hock (about 400g)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 300g Carolina Gold rice (or long-grain white rice)
  • 750ml of the pea cooking liquid
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • Hot pepper vinegar to serve, sliced scallions

Method

  1. Drain the soaked peas. Place in a heavy pot with ham hock and bay; cover with 1.5 litres water.
  2. Simmer 1 hour 30 minutes, partially covered, until peas are tender. Reserve 750ml liquid; lift out the ham hock, pull the meat, discard bone and fat.
  3. In a wide pan, soften the diced onion in oil over medium heat, 6 minutes.
  4. Stir in garlic, then rice. Toast 1 minute.
  5. Pour in the reserved pea liquid and add the peas, pulled ham, salt.
  6. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to lowest heat. Cook 20 minutes; rest 10 minutes off heat.
  7. Fluff with a fork. Serve with hot pepper vinegar and scallions.

Tip from the editors. If you can find Carolina Gold rice from Anson Mills, use it. The grain holds its shape and absorbs the pot liquor differently to commodity long-grain.

Where to eat hoppin' john

Hoppin' John in Charleston

Husk ★ 4.9

$$$$ Tasting $80-140 a la carteModern SouthernDowntownChef Sean Brock (founding); current team

Husk in Charleston opened in 2010 under Sean Brock and rebuilt Southern fine dining on heritage grains and hyper-local produce. Located in Downtown.

OrderThe cast-iron cornbread, plus whatever the wood grill is running.

Book3 weeks ahead

TipBook on the website. Bar seats walk-in at 17:00 and serve the full menu.

Directions Book

Bertha's Kitchen ★ 4.7

$$ Fried chickenNorth Charleston

Bertha's Kitchen on Meeting Street Road in North Charleston runs Albertha Grant's soul food cafeteria from 1979. Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice.

OrderFried chicken, okra soup, red rice, lima beans with smoked turkey neck

Why locals goA North Charleston cafeteria steam table that has run since 1979 and won James Beard's America's Classics in 2017. Tourist guides barely list it.

TipLunch only Mon-Sat, cash and card. Arrive before 13:00 weekdays or the fried chicken is gone.

Directions

Hannibal's Kitchen ★ 4.5

$ Soul foodEastside

Hannibal's Kitchen has fed the Eastside of Charleston soul food since 1985. At 16 Blake St. Reservations advised. A neighbourhood favourite.

TryCrab rice, smothered pork chop, fried whiting, lima beans

TipCounter order, dining-room seat. Lunch beats dinner; the line peaks 12:30-13:30 weekdays.

Directions

Slightly North of Broad ★ 4.6

$$$ LowcountryDowntown

Slightly North of Broad in Charleston has run on East Bay Street since 1993. Brunch and lunch are easier seats than dinner. Bar seats are walk-in only.

OrderThe shrimp and grits with stone-ground grits and house kielbasa, on the menu since the 90s.

TipBrunch and lunch are easier seats than dinner. Bar seats are walk-in only.

Directions Book

All Charleston signature dishes →

Hoppin' John in Savannah

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room ★ 4.7

$ Soul foodHistoric District

Mrs. Wilkes has run from a Jones Street basement since 1943, $35 communal Southern home cooking at ten-person tables. Sweet potato souffle, cash or check.

TryCommunal-table Southern lunch

Directions

Sisters of the New South ★ 4.7

$$ Soul foodEastside

Sisters of the New South on Skidaway Rd in Eastside is the cafeteria-line soul-food kitchen plating oxtails, fried chicken, and stewed greens at lunch.

Why locals goOut on Skidaway in residential Eastside; off the tourist trail; cafeteria-line service.

TipLunch only; arrive by 12:30 to beat the office crowd. Oxtails go fast on Fridays.

Directions

The Grey ★ 4.9

$$$$ Tasting $135 prix fixeSoul foodChef Mashama Bailey

Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano's flagship in a 1938 Greyhound bus terminal. Bailey: 2019 James Beard Best Chef Southeast, 2022 Outstanding Chef winner.

Book3 to 4 weeks ahead

Directions Book

Husk Savannah ★ 4.8

$$$$ Tasting A la carte; chef's tasting on requestLowcountry

Heritage-grain Lowcountry on Oglethorpe, opened January 2018 as the fourth Husk from Sean Brock's group. Wood-grilled coastal Georgia fish, Anson Mills grits.

Book2 weeks ahead

Directions Book

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