Sweet green beans

[lindag]

Our local Catholic church does Fish Fries on Friday during Lent.  The K of C men do all the cooking, prep and cleanup, bless their hearts.  They've been at it so long that they really know their stuff.

The meals they make include, fish fillets, cold slaw, rolls, waffle fries along with veverages and dessert.   And, the green beans which are like none I've ever had.

I suspect their recipes goes something like this:

3-4 cups green beans cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ co butter, melted

½ cup brown sugar

¼ soy sauce

 

I'd never had sweet green beans before but love them now.  I suspect this might be kind of a Southern  recipe.

[AlaMoi]

yes, definitely a southern twist.

if you search "sweet green beans" you'll  find many recipes from casserole to side-dish.

just the 'sweet juice marinade' to bacon ladened 'baked and quake' casserole

 

I'm a Yankee, married into a 'suthern family' - I've got loads and piles of "conflicting" recipes.

but, for green beans, two major southern divisions:

(1)  green beans cooked to death - soft mushy

(2)  stuff like the sweet beans

 

frankly, all the variants are super delicious to the Normal Yankee.... (!)

 

 

 

 

[heidih]

When Isaw the topic title my mid went to sweet/sour cabbage type prep. And the 3 bean salad always had green beas as was sweet. But soy sauce does not scream "Southern". Can't you just prpfusely compiment the Knights of Columbus guys and get a rough recipe?

[Kim Shook]

55 minutes ago, heidih said:

When Isaw the topic title my mid went to sweet/sour cabbage type prep. And the 3 bean salad always had green beas as was sweet. But soy sauce does not scream "Southern". Can't you just prpfusely compiment the Knights of Columbus guys and get a rough recipe?

It does sound funny, but soy sauce is WIDELY used in the south and has been for years.  Some of the old community or church cook books I have seen are from as early as the 1950s and it is the "secret ingredient" in many recipes - especially soups, stews, and sauces.  The little NC town that my grandparents lived in has a BBQ place that has the most unique sauce I've ever tasted and it is rumored to contain soy sauce.  

 

I cook my beans the way my farm-raised TN/NC grandmother taught me (this is the second time of day she's come up here - she's on my mind for some reason) taught me: brown some fat pork (fatback, country ham, sidemeat, etc.) in a CLUB ALUMINUM pan. Add water and boil the hell out of it for a few minutes.  Add beans (fresh or canned - no frozen), pepper, and a good couple of spoons of brown sugar.  Boil the hell out of it again - adding water as needed - until they are soft.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Turn down the heat and let quietly simmer, letting the water evaporate almost completely until the beans are shriveled and army fatigue green and glistening with pork fat.  Good Lord.  Now I'm hungry.  

[FeChef]

I never heard of adding sugar to green beans. I thought it was weird my step father cooked his green beans in milk and butter.

[Katie Meadow]

In my dotage i've become a fan of long-cooked green beans. For smoky flavor I use bacon or ham broth. Sometimes I add tomato fo extra flavor. Toward the end I add a little Steens cane syrup, which is a bit sweet, and then for balance, a splash of vinegar,  Cooking beans in milk is a new one fo me. @FeChefwhere did your stepfather get that from?

[blue_dolphin]

12 hours ago, FeChef said:

I never heard of adding sugar to green beans. I thought it was weird my step father cooked his green beans in milk and butter.

 

My mother cooked green beans in butter and milk as well.  Only done with nice fresh beans from the garden and almost always a mix of yellow and green string beans. Always seemed a little fancy as we each got an extra little bowl to put them in.  We called them, "butter beans." 

Edited to add that they weren't creamed.  No thickener.  

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by blue_dolphin (log)

[FeChef]

17 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

In my dotage i've become a fan of long-cooked green beans. For smoky flavor I use bacon or ham broth. Sometimes I add tomato fo extra flavor. Toward the end I add a little Steens cane syrup, which is a bit sweet, and then for balance, a splash of vinegar,  Cooking beans in milk is a new one fo me. @FeChefwhere did your stepfather get that from?

I think his mom made them that way. Its probably a pennsylvania dutch thing.

[heidih]

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

My mother cooked green beans in butter and milk as well.  Only done with nice fresh beans from the garden and almost always a mix of yellow and green string beans. Always seemed a little fancy as we each got an extra little bowl to put them in.  We called them, "butter beans." 

Are they cooked to the point that the liquid is all absorbed?

 

[blue_dolphin]

2 minutes ago, heidih said:

Are they cooked to the point that the liquid is all absorbed?

 

No, everyone got several spoons of milk with little butter droplets in their bowls.

[cdh]

Hmmm... milk and butter is how my family did lima beans... never would have thought to do it to green beans.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, cdh said:

Hmmm... milk and butter is how my family did lima beans... never would have thought to do it to green beans.

We never had limas.  Perhaps someone in my family was a lima-phobe (I know my dad was) but liked the rest of it.