Ham and Beans :: Help Needed

Fidel

I am giving a go to some ham and beans. I have 2 ham bones and scraps that have been in the freezer since Thanksgiving. I plan to boil the bones for a few hours in a 7 qt DO, pick out any good chunks of meat, then strain that stock to use for the beans tomorrow.[p]I am figuring it will yield about 4 qts of stock and a pound or so of meat after I pull the bones and unusable stuff from the boil. I plan to use 3 pounds of pintos. [p]Sound about right? Any tips, hints, or suggestions regarding extra stuff to add, cook times and temps, etc., will be greatly appreciated. I plan to take a good bit of this to share with my outlaws so I am hoping it turns out pretty darn good. I am counting on a little "egg magic" to make it happen.

Unknown

Fidel,[p]Here is one idea![p]Stew, Beans & Ham, W/Cornbread Croutons, Thirdeye

A hearty stew that is hard to beat.
[p]INGREDIENTS:
1 lb peeled and diced tomatoes
4 fresh thyme sprigs
8 cups chicken broth
1 lb arugula, coarse stems removed (can use fresh spinach or other greens.) Arugula is a mustard green with a peppery flavor.
Tabasco to taste
1 lb (3 cups) dried Great Northern beans
1 lb smoked ham shanks or hocks
1/4 cup bacon drippings (or 1/4 cup olive oil)
2 cups chopped onion
2 green onions, chopped
2 Tbs minced garlic




To cook beans:
1 Simmer ham shanks in 6 cups of water in a 3 quart saucepan, partially covered, skimming foam as necessary for 1 hour. Reserve 4 cups of cooking liquid and drain ham hocks. Heat bacon drippings in an 8 quart heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion and garlic until soft. Do not burn the garlic. Add tomatoes and thyme, cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, reserved cooking liquid, ham hocks and beans. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender.


Servings: 6

Recipe Type
Soup

Recipe Source
Source: BGE Forum, Thirdeye, 01/02/07


[p]

RRP

<p />Fidel,[p]Here's a picture of my frozen pints of what I proudly call my kick butt ham & bean soup recipe that I've "perfected" to our tastes over the years. It used to be on the BGE recipe board but got lost during a glitch a while back. I hope you either like it or glean some pointers in the process![p]
RRP’s Ham & Bean Soup[p]1# navy beans prepared as described below
4 qt water in total
left over ham bone with lots of meat
¼ pound real butter
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 ½ tsp pepper + 35 grinds of fresh pepper (I know this sounds quirky!)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp comino powder (aka cumin)
1 tsp chili powder
4 T flour
½ t Wright’s concentrated hickory liquid smoke
½ t Kitchen Bouquet[p]Sort through beans for any bad ones, rinse, place in large pot with 1.5 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil for three minutes, turn off heat, but leave on the burner and keep covered for one hour.[p]Add another 1.5 quarts of cold water, plus the ham bone. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours.[p]In a fry pan sauté in butter the carrots, celery and onions. Season with salt, pepper, comino powder and chili powder. In a separate bowl place 4 T of sifted flour and THEN add 1 pint of cold water and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Remove ham bone and add leftover diced ham, sautéed vegetables, and flour slurry to the pot of beans. Carefully add one more pint of cold water, stir well. Heat thoroughly on simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim off any large poolings of fat which will might rise during this final stage, unless you were careful to exclude fat from the ham pieces and ham bone. [p]Kicker – if you saved any of the Dr Chicken’s Double Smoked Ham glaze pour that in. Wise to be careful here as it may make the soup too sweet for some people’s taste.[p]Lastly, 1 pint of this well mixed hearty soup is a nice size serving. Normally this recipe yields 7+ pints of this bodacious ham and bean soup!

Fidel

RRP,[p]Thank you sir. That is exactly what I was looking for to add some ideas.[p]