Recipe Requested Ham & Bean Soup

[AT5760]

I know it's not a complex recipe, but I'm looking for something tried and true. I've long since lost my step-dad's recipe, which if I remember correctly had a healthy amount of ham base.

I have a leftover ham from Christmas (bone-in).

Side issue - I've had lousy luck with dried beans lately being tough and never really cooking through. I suspect its a pH thing, but tips on that as well would be appreciated.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

For me, I love using a couple smoked hocks whenever possible. Some dried sage to taste. And yes bay leaves matter.

Soak your beans overnight to soften them up before cooking. Some folks do try adjust pH levels but I never have. Really old beans will often be tough no matter what you do. There's no shame in using canned!

Sorry, not a recipe I know but just the thoughts that spring to my mind. My approach is actually pretty simple. Some onion and garlic are about all the more that I often use.

 

[Just a DK]

The only luck i had with dried beans is pressure cooking... otherwise I just get canned cause the dried stuff has always been hit or miss.

 

[MrHiggins]

I know it's not a complex recipe, but I'm looking for something tried and true. I've long since lost my step-dad's recipe, which if I remember correctly had a healthy amount of ham base.

I have a leftover ham from Christmas (bone-in).

Side issue - I've had lousy luck with dried beans lately being tough and never really cooking through. I suspect its a pH thing, but tips on that as well would be appreciated.

I live at 7,000 feet, so cooking beans without a pressure cooker is almost impossible. Do you have one? If not, yes to soaking overnight, then simmer for a few hours in salted water.

Bean soups are a staple of mine and one of my most commonly made meals. As for a recipe, I don't really have one, but I always start with a homemade chicken stock. I like to add carrots, celery (not too much), yellow onions, and kale. Do you have any left over Parmesan rinds? Toss 'em in!

What beans are you using?

Good luck and have fun!

 

[AT5760]

No pressure cooker and I'm running out of space for kitchen gadgets, so likely not one in my future.

Onion, carrots, and celery are musts for a bean soup I feel.

As far as beans go, great northerns are what I've almost always used for ham soups.

 

[MrHiggins]

https://christopherkimball.wordpres...ersally agree that,matter how long they cook.
Maybe this blog post will help you getting your beans cooked?

 

[noj]

I know it's not a complex recipe, but I'm looking for something tried and true. I've long since lost my step-dad's recipe, which if I remember correctly had a healthy amount of ham base.

I have a leftover ham from Christmas (bone-in).

Side issue - I've had lousy luck with dried beans lately being tough and never really cooking through. I suspect its a pH thing, but tips on that as well would be appreciated.

With regards to the bean cooking, and texture, if you have time, let the pot cool slowly in room temperature for a few hours, and refrigerate overnight. Both the texture and flavor are better the next day, IMHO.

 

[esoo]

Maybe skip the beans and go with a Quebecois Pea soup?

I use this as a base. Smoked ham is fine, but it absolutely needs to be yellow peas.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/quebecois-style-pea-soup/19569/

 

[Michi]

Maybe skip the beans and go with a Quebecois Pea soup?

I use this as a base. Smoked ham is fine, but it absolutely needs to be yellow peas.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/quebecois-style-pea-soup/19569/

That's a fine recipe, but I would recommend to cook the ham hock with the skin on. You want to extract all that collagen for texture and mouthfeel. Discard the skin when deboning the hock and getting rid of excess fat.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

I just did this. Soak beans overnight. I used pinto.

i use ham hocks. I put them in a small pot and simmer them. About 30 minutes.
‘
in separate pot. Saute an onion, big pinch of red pepper flakes, some cumin. Bloom spices. Smash four cloves of garlic. Toss them in. Drain. Beans and put them in. Dump in ham hocks and simmering water. Add water to just cover beans. Get it simmering again. Lid pot, put it into a 310 degree oven. My oven simmers perfectly at 310. Yours might be 300.

1.5 hours. Done. I check at 1 hour mark and add water if needed. Add boiling water. If it is too wet, put back in oven uncovered for that last 30 minutes.
‘’stir, salt, pepper, eat. Simple. Oh yea. Shred ham meat and toss it back in.

‘’’for a soup you’ll use way more liquid.

 

[Desert Rat]

Bay leaves, oregano, salt, tyme, pepper-black, white, cayenne and a dash of tobasco. All to taste, the different pepper hits the palate differently that's why all three are used.

Green bell pepper, celery, onion.
Smoked ham hocks.

Simmer the hocks in enough water to cover with spice mixture and half the veg until tender. Remove hocks, discard bones and return to the pot. Then add presoaked beans and the rest of the veg. Addition meat like ham can be added towards the end.

Beans with fried potatoes is a thing to.

 

[McMan]

Onion, carrots, and celery are musts for a bean soup I feel.
As far as beans go, great northerns are what I've almost always used for ham soups.

Same here. Navy bean is nice too.

For ham/bean soups, I like a dice not chunky veg. Overcook the beans a tad, smash a bit with a fork to release some of the starch to help thicken the broth and make it a little velvety.

Good quality beans make a ton of difference. Rancho Gordo is my go to, and I've heard good things about Camellia (though have yet to try them).

 

[AT5760]

Ended up keeping the soup very simple. I cooked the bone to get as much flavor out of it as possible, then seasoned the broth with onions, carrot, garlic, bay leaves, a little cayenne, and a handful of fresh herbs. No black pepper. Added canned Northern beans and diced ham once the broth was ready.

It turned out well.

 

[Desert Rat]

If you are having trouble with beans I suspect it is a quality thing.
Switch brands and for sure stay away from the beans sold in bulk at some of the grocery stores, been there, done that.

 

[Transmaster]

US Senate Bean Soup. A traditional recipe that has been on the Senate Restaurant's menu since 1903.

For dried beans, I only use the Camellia brand from Louisiana. I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 6,150 feet of altitude. I always soak my beans overnight and simmer them for several hours. Be sure to try Camellia's "Field Peas" Field peas are a smaller more flavorful type of Black Eyed Pea. There are several different cultivars, Camellia has Crowder Peas and Field peas. I am not a big fan of using pressure cookers to cook beans, but a programmable pressure rice cooker is magical.

https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols/senate-bean-soup.htm

 

[rickbern]

US Senate Bean Soup. A traditional recipe that has been on the Senate Restaurant's menu since 1903.

For dried beans, I only use the Camellia brand from Louisiana. I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 6,150 feet of altitude. I always soak my beans overnight and simmer them for several hours. Be sure to try Camellia's "Field Peas" Field peas are a smaller more flavorful type of Black Eyed Pea. There are several different cultivars, Camellia has Crowder Peas and Field peas. I am not a big fan of using pressure cookers to cook beans, but a programmable pressure rice cooker is magical.

https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols/senate-bean-soup.htm

If you ever see them, give rancho gordo beans a whirl. I’m at sea level, but I make them at my sons house in Denver with no issues.

For truly next level beans (and lots of other things as well) cook them in an unglazed clay pot; difference is huge. My weapon of choice:

https://ancientcookware.com/la-chamba-collection/black-clay-la-chamba-rounded-soup-pot-detail

 

[Michi]

For truly next level beans (and lots of other things as well) cook them in an unglazed clay pot; difference is huge.

Römertopf is another good option for that kind of thing.

 

[9mmbhp]

If you ever see them, give rancho gordo beans a whirl. I’m at sea level, but I make them at my sons house in Denver with no issues.

+1 on Rancho Gordo beans, they're all I use here in the foothills of Colorado at 7200' with zero problems cooking them on the stove or in a low oven.

Fresh dried beans of the same age don't require soaking, I only soak beans I've had in the pantry for a couple of years.

Rancho Gordo's Senate Bean Soup recipe

 

[rickbern]

Römertopf is another good option for that kind of thing.

Romertopf is mostly used in the oven, no? Not so much on the stovetop

 

[rickbern]

+1 on Rancho Gordo beans, they're all I use here in the foothills of Colorado at 7200' with zero problems cooking them on the stove or in a low oven.

Fresh dried beans of the same age don't require soaking, I only soak beans I've had in the pantry for a couple of years.

Rancho Gordo's Senate Bean Soup recipe

Got some of their yellow eyed peas, I’m gonna use them in this recipe on Monday.

 

[Michi]

Romertopf is mostly used in the oven, no? Not so much on the stovetop

Only in the oven. You can't put it on a stove top, it will crack if you do that.

I use mine a fair bit. You can make really nice stews that way, and roasts that won't dry out.

 

[Transmaster]

These are rather hard to find, The Wok Shop has them. The Wok Shop: Selling woks and Asian kitchenware for over 48 years