Southern Pinto Beans with Ham Bone

INGREDIENTS

Beans and Liquid

2 pounds dry Pinto Beans or use Red Kidney Beans (See Blog Article about difficult choice in beans).
1/2 teaspoon dried beef broth flavoring
1 pound of any of the following pork: county ham or sugar cured ham bone with meet chunks or ham hocks
8 cups water (should make very juicy beans)
2 cups chicken broth

Seasoning Spices

2 cups onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped corsley
1 tsp. parsley
½ to 1 tsp. garlic depending on your taste
½ tsp. Cajun seasoning: Tony Hachure’s, Zatarains or other of your favorite
½ tsp. pepper, taste broth as you go through the cooking process.
4 to 8 dashes of Tabasco or other Louisiana hot sauce depending on your taste. You could also use cayenne pepper or crushed red peppers.
½ tsp initially of salt, taste broth as you go through the cooking process. Depending on the salt content of the pork and the chicken broth you may need to add salt later.
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves (remove after cooking, very bitter if you bite into one in your bowl)



DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING AND COOKING BEANS

Prepare the Beans

Search the beans for rocks, yes rocks that got in beans during picking and processing.
Discard the dark and too shriveled beans.
Wash the beans in cold water and drain.
Soak beans--2 different methods to choose from:
a) Soak overnight in cold water. In the morning drain any remaining water.
b) Put in the pot you will cook in and fill water at least 2 inches about the beans; bring to a simmer. Put on lid and let sit for an hour and ½. The beans will absorb most of the water. Drain off remaining water.

Cooking the Beans

Put all the ingredients in a very large pot. Place lid on pot and cook for at least 3 hours. Start checking the broth for taste after the first hour. Taste the beans for doneness after 2 hours. Once the beans are soft use a potato masher to mash up some of the beans. Then stir and stir to make the broth thicken. This is the secrete to really great beans. I like mine really juicy with broth a lovely rich color.


Serve over rice with homemade Chow Chow (pickle relish) and Cornbread prepared in a cast iron skillet. Later I will post our favorite recipes for these three complimentary dishes.