Food and Drink Ham hock n Beans

Megbert · 12-07-2009, 08:20 PM

How ya like em? What beans you use? Spices? Add-ons/ins? Stove or Crock pot them?

I recently made some HH&B and man there is something so comforting about that meal. I made mine with 2 ham hocks, 1lb of great northern beans some water and let them cook all damn day in the crock pot.

I also like to add fresh chopped onion prior to eating. Sometimes I also add some ketchup. Oh and gotta have some cornbread.

So how do the denizens of the planet go about making/eating this dish?

BigOlChiefsfan · 12-17-2009, 10:03 AM

I eat a lot of beans as they're fairly good for my blood sugar issues. So here's some tips. I like great northern (GN)beans, butter beans or pintos w/ham but make a lot of beans with no meat. I just add a lot of olive oil to those recipes. The olive oil serves the same job that 'ham fat' does, you'll be surprised how well it works to give them the same 'creamy' texture that hamfat/ham bone does. Cold beans won't absorb the oil, so be sure you add it while they're cooking or still warm.

Soak pintos/GN in plenty of water to cover - put in the 'fridge to soak if there's room. If not, change the water every 2 hours or so (the beans ferment when they soak at room temp, the water is full of what will become 'methane' - so pour it off and re-soak). Most beans will benefit from soaking, most lentils don't require it. Chana dal (a mini-chick pea) doesn't seem to be affected so I always just cook chana by itself in a small crockpot, overnight (diabetics take note - chana has almost a zero glycemic response. Try chana hummus for a guilt free snack.) Regular chick peas, kidney beans, butter beans, etc...really benefit from the soaking.

Dry beans 'last' for years, but the fresher they are the faster they'll cook. It pays to buy them someplace that has good turnover (walmart) and eat this years crop if you can.

Salt makes the skin on beans tough. I never salt the beans/broth until they're done. I don't add canned broth until the beans have cooked thru. Home made broth is fine.
Ham and sausage can be pretty salty, but what are ya gonna do? Fuhgedaboudit.

When the beans are done cooking, I always fry a few tablespoons of chopped garlic in a healthy dose of olive oil, and add a tablespoon or more of cumin seed. You can throw in fresh or dried chiles, mustard seed, curry powder, onion at this stage depending on what beans you're cooking. For instance, if I'm cooking chana dal or red lentils I'll put in the garlic, cumin seed, mustard seed, chile, diced onion and curry and cook the curry into the onions for 5 minutes or so. If it's pinto beans, just the garlic and cumin seed and green chile for 2 minutes. Saute', pour the spiced oil w/spices into the beans and stir. Serve. This final step is called 'tempering' the beans (dal) in many recipes. Some of the dal recipes call for a dollop of yogurt or watered down yogurt. It's better than it sounds. Or you can add coconut milk.

Beans require another protein to combine with for complete protein/nutrition. Cornbread provides one way to go, rice or hominy is another option. Rice deserves it's own thread, so I'll just give my cornbread trick here. I'm not claiming this is the healthiest cornbread, just that I think it's good.
Turn the oven on to 400, put in a greased cast iron skillet. Drink a beer. Combine 1 box 'jiffy mix' cornbread w/1 box jiffy mix yellow cake. Add a can of green chile, 2 eggs, milk as called for in the recipe, bake per package instructions in a pre-heated, greased cast iron skillet until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes back clean. If I don't have green chile, I add dill seed instead. I really like dill cornbread, but be careful making it around womenfolk. You never know what they'll do with a dill dough.

If you eat a lot of beans, your gut will contain an enzyme that helps break them down (there are some undigestible elements) and you won't find yourself farting all the time. If you don't eat a lot of beans, that enzyme can be replaced by eating a Beano tablet before dinner. Your friends/family/Al Gore will thank you.

I eat a lot of canned beans for quick dinners. I'll rinse a can of kidney beans or great northerns (rinse 4 or 5 times until no more 'bubbles' appear as you rinse). Throw in a large bowl, microwave for 40 seconds or so just until warm. Pour on your favorite vinegar and oil vinaigrette. Warm beans will suck up the oil, cold beans won't. Toss well. Then I add a can of olive-oil packed tuna or olive oil packed sardines and 1/3 red onion, pinch of italian seasoning, toss well and dump this over a bed of baby spinach or other greens. Good, cheap, fast, really good for you.

MVChiefFan · 12-17-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigOlChiefsfan

I eat a lot of beans as they're fairly good for my blood sugar issues. So here's some tips. I like great northern (GN)beans, butter beans or pintos w/ham but make a lot of beans with no meat. I just add a lot of olive oil to those recipes. The olive oil serves the same job that 'ham fat' does, you'll be surprised how well it works to give them the same 'creamy' texture that hamfat/ham bone does. Cold beans won't absorb the oil, so be sure you add it while they're cooking or still warm.

Soak pintos/GN in plenty of water to cover - put in the 'fridge to soak if there's room. If not, change the water every 2 hours or so (the beans ferment when they soak at room temp, the water is full of what will become 'methane' - so pour it off and re-soak). Most beans will benefit from soaking, most lentils don't require it. Chana dal (a mini-chick pea) doesn't seem to be affected so I always just cook chana by itself in a small crockpot, overnight (diabetics take note - chana has almost a zero glycemic response. Try chana hummus for a guilt free snack.) Regular chick peas, kidney beans, butter beans, etc...really benefit from the soaking.

Dry beans 'last' for years, but the fresher they are the faster they'll cook. It pays to buy them someplace that has good turnover (walmart) and eat this years crop if you can.

Salt makes the skin on beans tough. I never salt the beans/broth until they're done. I don't add canned broth until the beans have cooked thru. Home made broth is fine.
Ham and sausage can be pretty salty, but what are ya gonna do? Fuhgedaboudit.

When the beans are done cooking, I always fry a few tablespoons of chopped garlic in a healthy dose of olive oil, and add a tablespoon or more of cumin seed. You can throw in fresh or dried chiles, mustard seed, curry powder, onion at this stage depending on what beans you're cooking. For instance, if I'm cooking chana dal or red lentils I'll put in the garlic, cumin seed, mustard seed, chile, diced onion and curry and cook the curry into the onions for 5 minutes or so. If it's pinto beans, just the garlic and cumin seed and green chile for 2 minutes. Saute', pour the spiced oil w/spices into the beans and stir. Serve. This final step is called 'tempering' the beans (dal) in many recipes. Some of the dal recipes call for a dollop of yogurt or watered down yogurt. It's better than it sounds. Or you can add coconut milk.

Beans require another protein to combine with for complete protein/nutrition. Cornbread provides one way to go, rice or hominy is another option. Rice deserves it's own thread, so I'll just give my cornbread trick here. I'm not claiming this is the healthiest cornbread, just that I think it's good.
Turn the oven on to 400, put in a greased cast iron skillet. Drink a beer. Combine 1 box 'jiffy mix' cornbread w/1 box jiffy mix yellow cake. Add a can of green chile, 2 eggs, milk as called for in the recipe, bake per package instructions in a pre-heated, greased cast iron skillet until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes back clean. If I don't have green chile, I add dill seed instead. I really like dill cornbread, but be careful making it around womenfolk. You never know what they'll do with a dill dough.

If you eat a lot of beans, your gut will contain an enzyme that helps break them down (there are some undigestible elements) and you won't find yourself farting all the time. If you don't eat a lot of beans, that enzyme can be replaced by eating a Beano tablet before dinner. Your friends/family/Al Gore will thank you.

I eat a lot of canned beans for quick dinners. I'll rinse a can of kidney beans or great northerns (rinse 4 or 5 times until no more 'bubbles' appear as you rinse). Throw in a large bowl, microwave for 40 seconds or so just until warm. Pour on your favorite vinegar and oil vinaigrette. Warm beans will suck up the oil, cold beans won't. Toss well. Then I add a can of olive-oil packed tuna or olive oil packed sardines and 1/3 red onion, pinch of italian seasoning, toss well and dump this over a bed of baby spinach or other greens. Good, cheap, fast, really good for you.

I now crown you KING OF THE BEAN!!!

BigOlChiefsfan · 12-17-2009, 10:51 AM

Bring on the dancing girls!

MVChiefFan · 12-17-2009, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigOlChiefsfan

Bring on the dancing girls!

Simply Red · 12-17-2009, 10:55 AM

I really like better than bouillon.

**Saulbadguy** · 12-17-2009, 11:00 AM

Never had 'em.

MOhillbilly · 12-17-2009, 11:01 AM

i like black eyed peas,hamhock(jowl if i can get it) & rice.

Put it in a cock pot w/ a quartered onion,acouple bay leaves,salt and pepper.

stumppy · 12-17-2009, 11:16 AM

I don't mind eating Ham & Beans once or twice a year but thats about it. If I hadn't had to eat it about a third of the time for dinner and lunch when I was growing up I'd probably like it a hell of a lot more.

Simply Red · 12-17-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumppy

I don't mind eating Ham & Beans once or twice a year but thats about it. If I hadn't had to eat it about a third of the time for dinner and lunch when I was growing up I'd probably like it a hell of a lot more.

yep, a lot of folks grew up on them and now don't really like them as much, pretty common w/ this meal. I love them. When I was a dietary-aid at a retirement home, the residents used to get pissed when we'd occasionally serve them, they said that it reminded them of tough-times.

Extra Point · 12-17-2009, 11:24 AM

BigOlChiefsFan, from your Ivory Bean Tower, please share with us your fine recipe for scratch BBQ Baked Beans.

You definitely have some good cooking going on.

BigOlChiefsfan · 12-17-2009, 11:46 AM

Sorry, I'll have to defer to some others around here for BBQ baked beans - The way I made 'em they usually have more sugar in 'em than I can process nowdays so I don't have a recipe at hand. Not that I don't like 'em, but if I make a pot of sweet beans it's asking for trouble. I will say that I added 2 diced 'granny smith' apples to mine when I added the diced onions, because it gave them a 'sweet & sour' thing. Canned kidney beans/pinto beans mixed, bacon, thyme, chiles, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, hot sauce, dijon mustard, cumino, onions and apples, crock pot.

RJ · 12-17-2009, 11:54 AM

Great Northerns are my favorite, pintos are great too. I'm ok with or without the ham. If I don't use a hock, I'll usually use some chicken broth. If I make a ham, I like to turn the bone into a stock. That makes an extra special pot of beans.

Either way, if I have a bowl of white beans and a bottle of hot sauce I'm a happy guy.

Simply Red · 12-17-2009, 11:56 AM

Great Northerns sound good right now.

kepp · 12-17-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simply Red

yep, a lot of folks grew up on them and now don't really like them as much, pretty common w/ this meal. I love them. When I was a dietary-aid at a retirement home, the residents used to get pissed when we'd occasionally serve them, they said that it reminded them of tough-times.

I LOVED ham & beans when we had them growing up in school. A big plate of that slop with a couple hot rolls...

12-07-2009, 08:20 PM
Megbert New and shiny. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: KC KS Casino cash: $9270260	Ham hock n Beans How ya like em? What beans you use? Spices? Add-ons/ins? Stove or Crock pot them? I recently made some HH&B and man there is something so comforting about that meal. I made mine with 2 ham hocks, 1lb of great northern beans some water and let them cook all damn day in the crock pot. I also like to add fresh chopped onion prior to eating. Sometimes I also add some ketchup. Oh and gotta have some cornbread. So how do the denizens of the planet go about making/eating this dish?
Posts: 10,198

12-17-2009, 10:03 AM	#2
BigOlChiefsfan Certified Bourbon taster Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Shawnee KS Casino cash: $6380157	I eat a lot of beans as they're fairly good for my blood sugar issues. So here's some tips. I like great northern (GN)beans, butter beans or pintos w/ham but make a lot of beans with no meat. I just add a lot of olive oil to those recipes. The olive oil serves the same job that 'ham fat' does, you'll be surprised how well it works to give them the same 'creamy' texture that hamfat/ham bone does. Cold beans won't absorb the oil, so be sure you add it while they're cooking or still warm. Soak pintos/GN in plenty of water to cover - put in the 'fridge to soak if there's room. If not, change the water every 2 hours or so (the beans ferment when they soak at room temp, the water is full of what will become 'methane' - so pour it off and re-soak). Most beans will benefit from soaking, most lentils don't require it. Chana dal (a mini-chick pea) doesn't seem to be affected so I always just cook chana by itself in a small crockpot, overnight (diabetics take note - chana has almost a zero glycemic response. Try chana hummus for a guilt free snack.) Regular chick peas, kidney beans, butter beans, etc...really benefit from the soaking. Dry beans 'last' for years, but the fresher they are the faster they'll cook. It pays to buy them someplace that has good turnover (walmart) and eat this years crop if you can. Salt makes the skin on beans tough. I never salt the beans/broth until they're done. I don't add canned broth until the beans have cooked thru. Home made broth is fine. Ham and sausage can be pretty salty, but what are ya gonna do? Fuhgedaboudit. When the beans are done cooking, I always fry a few tablespoons of chopped garlic in a healthy dose of olive oil, and add a tablespoon or more of cumin seed. You can throw in fresh or dried chiles, mustard seed, curry powder, onion at this stage depending on what beans you're cooking. For instance, if I'm cooking chana dal or red lentils I'll put in the garlic, cumin seed, mustard seed, chile, diced onion and curry and cook the curry into the onions for 5 minutes or so. If it's pinto beans, just the garlic and cumin seed and green chile for 2 minutes. Saute', pour the spiced oil w/spices into the beans and stir. Serve. This final step is called 'tempering' the beans (dal) in many recipes. Some of the dal recipes call for a dollop of yogurt or watered down yogurt. It's better than it sounds. Or you can add coconut milk. Beans require another protein to combine with for complete protein/nutrition. Cornbread provides one way to go, rice or hominy is another option. Rice deserves it's own thread, so I'll just give my cornbread trick here. I'm not claiming this is the healthiest cornbread, just that I think it's good. Turn the oven on to 400, put in a greased cast iron skillet. Drink a beer. Combine 1 box 'jiffy mix' cornbread w/1 box jiffy mix yellow cake. Add a can of green chile, 2 eggs, milk as called for in the recipe, bake per package instructions in a pre-heated, greased cast iron skillet until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes back clean. If I don't have green chile, I add dill seed instead. I really like dill cornbread, but be careful making it around womenfolk. You never know what they'll do with a dill dough. If you eat a lot of beans, your gut will contain an enzyme that helps break them down (there are some undigestible elements) and you won't find yourself farting all the time. If you don't eat a lot of beans, that enzyme can be replaced by eating a Beano tablet before dinner. Your friends/family/Al Gore will thank you. I eat a lot of canned beans for quick dinners. I'll rinse a can of kidney beans or great northerns (rinse 4 or 5 times until no more 'bubbles' appear as you rinse). Throw in a large bowl, microwave for 40 seconds or so just until warm. Pour on your favorite vinegar and oil vinaigrette. Warm beans will suck up the oil, cold beans won't. Toss well. Then I add a can of olive-oil packed tuna or olive oil packed sardines and 1/3 red onion, pinch of italian seasoning, toss well and dump this over a bed of baby spinach or other greens. Good, cheap, fast, really good for you. __________________ A man can never own too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. -- R. Kipling
Posts: 5,164

12-17-2009, 10:51 AM	#4
BigOlChiefsfan Certified Bourbon taster Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Shawnee KS Casino cash: $6380157	Bring on the dancing girls! __________________ A man can never own too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. -- R. Kipling
Posts: 5,164

12-17-2009, 10:55 AM	#6
Simply Red You Sweetie! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2021206219 VARSITY	I really like better than bouillon.
Posts: 71,691

12-17-2009, 11:00 AM	#7
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $736966	Never had 'em.
Posts: 47,020

12-17-2009, 11:01 AM	#8
MOhillbilly Mama Tried Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Missouri Casino cash: $9949903	i like black eyed peas,hamhock(jowl if i can get it) & rice. Put it in a cock pot w/ a quartered onion,acouple bay leaves,salt and pepper. __________________ True Son of Liberty
Posts: 23,371

12-17-2009, 11:16 AM	#9
stumppy New and Improved Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Springfield, Mo. Casino cash: $-2451410	I don't mind eating Ham & Beans once or twice a year but thats about it. If I hadn't had to eat it about a third of the time for dinner and lunch when I was growing up I'd probably like it a hell of a lot more. __________________ “As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution”
Posts: 22,365

12-17-2009, 11:24 AM	#11
Extra Point MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Prairie Village, KS Casino cash: $10004900	BigOlChiefsFan, from your Ivory Bean Tower, please share with us your fine recipe for scratch BBQ Baked Beans. You definitely have some good cooking going on. __________________ "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." --Satchel Paige
Posts: 7,845

12-17-2009, 11:46 AM	#12
BigOlChiefsfan Certified Bourbon taster Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Shawnee KS Casino cash: $6380157	Sorry, I'll have to defer to some others around here for BBQ baked beans - The way I made 'em they usually have more sugar in 'em than I can process nowdays so I don't have a recipe at hand. Not that I don't like 'em, but if I make a pot of sweet beans it's asking for trouble. I will say that I added 2 diced 'granny smith' apples to mine when I added the diced onions, because it gave them a 'sweet & sour' thing. Canned kidney beans/pinto beans mixed, bacon, thyme, chiles, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, hot sauce, dijon mustard, cumino, onions and apples, crock pot. __________________ A man can never own too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. -- R. Kipling
Posts: 5,164

12-17-2009, 11:54 AM	#13
RJ Supporter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: In a shotgun shack Casino cash: $9895202	Great Northerns are my favorite, pintos are great too. I'm ok with or without the ham. If I don't use a hock, I'll usually use some chicken broth. If I make a ham, I like to turn the bone into a stock. That makes an extra special pot of beans. Either way, if I have a bowl of white beans and a bottle of hot sauce I'm a happy guy. Last edited by RJ; 12-17-2009 at 12:01 PM..
Posts: 14,940

12-17-2009, 11:56 AM	#14
Simply Red You Sweetie! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2021206219 VARSITY	Great Northerns sound good right now.
Posts: 71,691