Ham Bone Bean Soup

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Ham Bone Bean Soup

A soup for every week of the year

(Or… What am I gonna do with that spiral sliced ham thing?)

OK, you have peeled off all of that yummy sliced ham and you now have a big ham bone with all of that ham stuff still lumped on one end. Well, stay tuned and cook up a pot of bean soup that will make you “hurt yo’self!”

• 2 16 oz. bags of 15 (or whatever) bean mix.
  
• 1 16 oz. bag garbanzos
  
• 4 T bacon drippings (Oh good grief… it won’t kill you and it tastes good.)
  
• 4 big onions chopped about ½”
  
• 5 big ribs of celery chopped about ½”
  
• 2 large heads of garlic coarsely chopped (Yes, the whole heads. Not 2 cloves.)
  
• 6 bottles, dark beer
  

Wash the beans and soak the beans in cold water for a few hours or overnight. Or, don’t soak them and just cook a little longer. I gave up soaking beans because I am not good at planning ahead. I think they taste better as well.

Get a REALLY BIG pot and put in the vegetables and bacon drippings.

Sauté until the veggies are translucent.

Put the ham thing in the pot.

Drain the water off the beans and put them in the pot.

Pour in 6 bottles of a good dark beer. (OK, pour in 5 and drink one.) I like Samuel Adams Honey Porter but use whatever you like. Look for a balance of sweet and bitter. You can consume a lot in the name of research. Add water as needed to cover the beans.

Cover and simmer for several hours, adding water as needed. If you put the pot in the oven at 225 to 250F, you don’t have to worry about scorching the bottom. The thing is done when the meat falls off the ham bone in shreds and the beans are tender but not mushy. Yeah… take the bones out and throw them away. Or give them to the dog. Salt and pepper to taste.

That is the basic recipe, quite good as is. But you can add things to it as you wish. I freeze portions of the basic recipe and add stuff to my taste when I reheat it.

Some suggestions:

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped fresh jalepeno peppers

Chopped pickled jalepenos

Picante sauce

Fresh herbs: parsley, cilantro, basil, etc.

Chopped fresh red bell pepper

Alternate cooking method:

You can cut the amount down so that the recipe will fit in a heavy Dutch oven with a lid. (Or maybe you have a really big one.) Bring the contents to a boil, put the lid on and put in a 250F oven. Unsoaked beans will be done in 2 to 3 hours. Also, you don't have to worry about sticking on the bottom.

Keywords: Soup, Easy, Beans, Lunch, Dinner

( RG1176 )