My wife made some bean soup using the ham left over from Easter. The trouble is she doesn't really like bean soup and used a receipt from her cook book that was not very good. I always hate to bring up my mother's cooking (it wasn't always the best) but she made a bean soup that I absolutely loved. My wife's receipt said to bring the beans (not presoaked) to a boil and then cover and take off the burner. She then added the ham and some celery and other stuff (I told her not to bother with the celery or carrots the next time) and cooked it for 2 hours one more than the receipt called for and the beans were crunchy! Since I'm the only one eating it I told my wife that I wanted to put it back on the stove and cook it for another couple of hours (min.). I really hate to hurt my wife's feelings and she is a very good cook but since she only makes bean soup every couple of years she doesn't know what to do. Please help!
I just made ham hocks and bean (pinto) soup a few weeks back for the first time. I was delicious and also my first time making it. Here's what I did.
I soaked some pinto beans over night. I carmalized an onion, added the beans and water, added the ham with bone in, added a few jalpenos, some chopped green chili and just a titch of fresh garlic and a few seasonings, salt, pepper and a bit of bay leaves. You can also cook up some rice and serve it over the soup.
Here's another good receipe.
2 Lbs. Good quality ground meat (venison, elk, beef, etc.)
¼ cup Crisco if meat is very lean
1 large onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic smushed and chopped (more if you like)
1 Tblsp. Rosemary (crush with fingers)
1 Tblsp. Thyme
1 Tblesp. Sage
1 Teasp. Ground cumin
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tblesp. Red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Teasp. Black pepper
1 – 2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
2 medium ham hocks, A big ham bone with meat left on it, or ½ lb. of bacon cut in small pieces
4--5 cups cleaned pinto beans
Water to cover (use good water)
In a large Dutch oven, like a number 9 or 10 Griswold Dutch Oven (with or without legs as I use a number 10 w/o legs and put it in my kitchen oven to cook), cook ground meat with onions and garlic.
When meat is mostly cooked, add other dry ingredients and mix well. Then add pinto beans, ham hocks and water to cover. If using bacon, do not cook the bacon, add raw pieces now. Add the bay leaves last.
Cover with lid and cook in the oven at 300 for 3-4 hours. Check beans every 30-40 minutes and add water as needed. Don’t let the beans get dry.
Generally, when the ham hocks are falling apart, the beans will be done too. When everything is done, pull out the ham bones, skin and fat as desired and mix the ham meat in with the beans and ground meat.
A bowl of this topped with fresh chopped spring onions along with some good skillet made corn bread or biscuits is about as good as it gets. Enjoy!!
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The older the beans, the longer they have to cook. Just put the soup back on the burner in a good heavy-bottomed pan, cover it and simmer it til the beans get tender. It may take awhile but they will.
Heathertee2002 wrote: The older the beans, the longer they have to cook. Just put the soup back on the burner in a good heavy-bottomed pan, cover it and simmer it til the beans get tender. It may take awhile but they will.
I love bean soup.
That's what I would suggest, unless there's sugar in there. When you add sugar, it stops the softening of the beans and they'll stay at the state they were in when you added the sugar no matter how long you cook it. Did you say there are carrots? The carrots may just have put enough sugar into the soup to make it near impossible to soften the beans. If you can taste any sweetness in it, I'm afraid you're stuck with the hard beans.
It doesn't matter if you soak beans overnight or bring to boil and let set for a couple of hours, beans have to be cooked until they are done. This could be 2 to 4 hours. The length of time required is based on how old the beans are (older takes longer). Since dried beans are not dated, there is no way to know their age.
I do not soak. After sorting through 1 lb. of beans to discard dirt clogs, rocks and discolored, cracked or wrinkled beans, I wash in warm water to rinse away any dust or dirt still remaining.
Put clean beans in a big soup pot, cover with water at least 2 inches above the beans. Bring to boil then turn down to simmer and cook for 1 hour (add more water or broth if needed). If you are going to use a ham bone or ham hock, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. If the broth is very salty, discard. Cover with water again and bring to boil another ten minutes. Do this until the broth is not too salty. Reserve bone and broth to add to beans later.
After the beans have cooked for the first hour, add the bone and broth and cook for 30 minutes or until the skins have began to split. When the skins of the beans have began to split, then add vegatables. I use one cup each of chopped carrots, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes and several cloves of garlic. I also add a spice blend (whatever floats your boat) at this time. Simmer until beans are soft. At this time adjust salt & pepper to taste.
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1 16 oz pkg dried navy beans
6 cups water
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb cooked ham cubes
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs dried parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2-4 cups water (added during simmering)
1. Combine beans, water, vegetables, ham and seasonings into a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for two hours.
2. Add an additional two to four cups of water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional two hours. Discard bay leaf. Serve
Makes 8-10 servings
My hubby loves the bean soup I make from the packages of mixed dried beans that are carried in the store, typically called 8 bean mix. I place the beans after cleaning into a heavy pot on the stove. I put in a ham bone or cut up ham steak, chopped onions and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit about an hour. Add a small amount of garlic, salt & pepper, sliced susage, and chopped cabbage if you have it. Cook until beans are tender but still firm.
Howard T wrote: I know the ham gives the soup a great flavor, but Howard doesn't eat meat. Any suggested recipes that don't require the ham hock?
Does he just not eat meat, or is he a vegetarian?
There is a ham soup base that could be used... or the flavor packet that comes in the 8 Bean Soup package in the grocery. Not sure if these have real ham in them or not, which is why I asked if he was a vegetarian.
Quite honestly, I think it would be fine without the ham added. It's just one more flavor layer.
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