I’ve never seen them in the pods for sale anywhere near me. When I was a kid, I loved shelling them for my Louisiana grandmother to cook. Not dried and rattling in the pod - fresh, and light green. A friend is growing some for me right now 
and I’m searching for an explanation of fresh black-eyed, or purple hulled, peas, that are picked and prepared before they rattle in the pods. Even my southern cookbooks are silent. I loved shelling them. Go figure.
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With fresh black-eyed peas, I’m in the less done to them the better camp. Water, salt, pepper, some bacon grease, and bring to a boil then simmer them to whatever degree of doneness you prefer.
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I mostly use them around the New Year in one of those “caviar” recipes, but I don’t know if they were rattling prior to showing up in the produce aisle. I would like to use them more in salads and to understand how they differ.
Have you tried Googling “shell” or “shelling beans” ? I have come to think of that as covering most fresh beans, including those with dark “eyes”.
Yes, I did look up shell beans. Probably as close to what I want as I’m going to get.
ETA: rattling = dried state.
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I usually go to a you-pick farm in the summer, and they always have black eyed peas. i may get some this year, but the problem is there’s been one whale of a heat wave, and I just can’t spend a solid hour picking pods when it’s 110 out with no wind. BUT- when I have picked them before they’ve been just about the best things I’ve ever eaten. The pods start to shrivel but the beans inside are still fresh. Well, hell. Maybe I’ll drive there at 5am and get there when they open. Those, okra, and chiles. Oh- and corn, which is always marvelous. Now I’m hungry and it’s time for bed…
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