bodacious ham and bean soup

I love Egret's recipe for his ham, but what I enjoy even more is my recipe of ham and bean soup. I made a big ol' pot of it yesterday and the raves I got made me proud!

RRP’s  Ham & Bean Soup

1# navy beans prepared as described below

3 cups of diced ham

1 left over ham bone, plus any large chunks of fatty meat saved while trimming down the     ham bone – especially that which may still have some of the exterior glaze!

¼ pound butter

1 cup grated carrots (typically 1 large one)

1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)

1 cup thinly diced celery (about 2 large stalks)

2 tsp freshly ground pepper (90 grinds)

3 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp chili powder

2 T sifted flour

½ t Wright’s concentrated hickory liquid smoke

½ t Kitchen Bouquet

Method A. Sort through beans for any bad ones, rinse and place in large pot with 4 pints of cold water. Bring to a boil for three minutes, turn off heat, but leave on the burner and keep covered for one hour and 15 minutes.

Or Method B which I really prefer! This is a recap from Cook’s Illustrated in Nov ’10 issue: For 1 pound of dried Navy beans dissolve 3 tablespoons of table salt in 3 quarts of cold water. Let soak for 16 to 24 hours at room temperature. Drain and rinse well before proceeding  

Drain beans and rinse again. Add 4 pints of cold water, plus the ham bone. Simmer for 3 hours. First hour uncovered and next 2 hours with cover slightly ajar.

Sauté the carrots, celery and onions in ¼ lb of butter. Season with salt, pepper, cumin powder and chili powder. In a separate shaker place 2 T of sifted flour and THEN add 1 pint of tap hot water and mix thoroughly to make a slurry and set aside. 

Remove the ham bone after carefully saving any additional ham from it that becomes visible after the long simmer. Also remove the chunks of fat. Add the diced ham, sautéed vegetables and flour slurry to the pot of beans. Add the Wright’s smoke and Kitchen Bouquet and stir well. Heat thoroughly on simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 

For reference just 1 pint of this well mixed hearty soup is a nice size serving. Normally this recipe yields 7 pints of bodacious very thick ham and bean soup!