Ham Bone Ideas?

Ham and Bean soup..

HAM BONE BEAN SOUP

1 lb. dry navy beans (2 1/3 c.)
1 1/2 lbs. meaty ham bone, or 1 1/2 lbs. hocks
1/2 tsp. salt
6 whole black peppers
1 bay leaf
1 med. onion, sliced

Thoroughly wash beans. Cover with 2 quarts cold water and bring to boiling; boil gently two minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Do not drain.)

Add ham bone, seasonings. Cover; heat to boiling; boil gently until beans are tender, about 3-4 hours. Add onion last half hour. Remove ham bone, if desired, mash beans slightly. Cut ham off bone and return meat to soup. Season with salt and pepper.

This is a bodacious ham and been soup I've perfected over the years. While it addresses the Double Smoked ham recipe, I've made it with other ham bones and left overs as well. This is rich and hearty!

RRP’s Ham & Bean Soup

1# navy beans prepared as described below
8 pints of water in total
3 cups of diced ham
left over ham bone
¼ pound real butter
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup diced onion
1 cup thinly diced celery
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 tsp salt
1 tsp comino powder (aka cumin)
1 tsp chili powder
3 T sifted flour
½ t Wright’s concentrated hickory liquid smoke
½ t Kitchen Bouquet

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.

Drain beans and rinse again. Add 4 pints of cold water, plus the ham bone. Simmer for 3 hours.

Sauté the carrots, celery and onions in ¼ lb of butter. Season with salt, pepper, comino powder and chili powder. In a separate bowl place 3 T of sifted flour and THEN add 1 pint of tap hot 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.

Kicker – if you saved any of the Dr Chicken’s Double Smoked Ham glaze pour that in. It is wise to be careful here as it may make the soup too sweet for some people’s taste.

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!