Smoky Black Eyed Peas and Ham

The night before:
Rinse and soak black eyed peas overnight or follow the quick soak method on the bag. Soak your smoker chips in water if using an electric smoker.

In the morning:
Fire up the smoker to 250ºF. I use and electric smoker and I use a mixture of apple and hickory chips soaked in water.

While the smoker is heating up, add all ingredients except the ham to the crockpot and set on low for 6–8 hours.

Cut ham into blocks about the size of your fist. Place them fatty side up in a small pan. I usually end up filling up two 8×8 pans with ham chunks. The pan will now be used as your smoker pan, so don’t use a good one that you want to use again for something other than smoking.

Put the pan(s) of ham into the smoker uncovered for the next 2 hours. Continue adding wood chips or wood to keep the smoke going the entire time. The smoke is what gives this meal its flavor.

After 2 hours, there should be a good amount of juice in the pans. Dump all the juice and the ham into the slow cooker with the beans. Stir it all together and let it slow cook all day.

With a fork, pull the ham apart and remove the bones. Stir and enjoy!