brown beans and ham

some recipes are almost too simple to post, but i take for granted that everyone in the world didn't grow up in their muddah's kitchen like i did.  i made brown beans and ham tuesday night and they're so good i thought i'd share.

brown beans and ham

ingredients:

1 20 oz (or so) bag of pinto beans

1 medium white onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 ham hock

1 ham steak (optional - if you want bites of ham in your beans)

1 bottle or can of good, dark beer

seasoning salt

cracked black pepper

agua

rinse the beans:

pot a large pot in your sink and set a colander in it.  pour the beans into the colander and run cold water over them, swishing the colander around as water fills the pot.  throw out any wonky looking beans or debris.  lift the colander and drain the beans.

do a quick soak:

fill the large pot about half full of water and bring to a full rolling boil.  dump the beans in and bring it back up to a boil, and then boil for another two minutes.  turn off the heat and let them soak.

while the beans are soaking:

dice the onion and the garlic clove.  take the ham steak and cut it into bite-size cubes.  set aside.

rinse the beans again:

dump the beans back into the colander and get rid of the soak water.  then put the beans back into the large pan.  now they're ready to cook.

combine ingredients:

add the onion and the garlic to the beans.  season to taste with seasoning salt and cracked pepper.  be sure to salt the beans thoroughly, because otherwise they will be too bland - the salt needs to soak into them during the cooking process, like pasta.  

add the ham hock to the pot. the ham hock is for flavor, and as the fat cooks out of it, it will thicken up the sauce.  the nice thing about ham hocks is that you can buy a package of 4 at the grocery store for about $2.00.  i use one in the pot of beans and throw the rest into the deep freeze for next time.  also, after you're done cooking with the ham hock, you can make your resident canine very happy.  (you can also use leftover bits of a holiday ham.  last christmas i took the ham bone from our sugared ham, which still had lots of small bits of ham on it, and threw it in the deep freeze.  a few months later i used the whole thing in this recipe.  it was amazing.  never throw out a ham bone!)

add the bottle of beer to the pot.  try not to use a pale lager or pilsner like budweiser or coors, although these will work in a pinch.  use an ale or a porter.  i like red stripe or fat tire.  all the alcohol will be long gone by the time the beans are done, you just want the flavor from the beer.  also add 6 cups of water.  you can add more water as (and if) needed.  the longer you cook the beans the more water you'll need due to the evaporation factor, so start with 6 cups and play it by ear.

cook:

the quick method is to cook for 1.5 hours on low heat on the stovetop.  add the cubed ham and cook for 1 hour more.  

alternatively, you can cook the beans and ham hock for 4-5 hours in a crock pot and then add the cubed ham and cook for 1 hour more.

the longer and slower you cook the beans, the thicker and richer the liquid will be, and the more ham flavor you'll have.

serve:

when the beans are finished, discard the ham hock and freeze half the beans for another day.  serve the other half with fried potatoes and corn bread.  when you're mixing your cornbread batter, pour in a good couple of tablespoons of local honey.  

i like to top my beans with tabasco.  or you can do as my dad did and pour yellow mustard over the top.  now that i will never understand.

enjoy!