Ham Bone & Beans

[syntheticjesso]

I brought home the bone from our Christmas ham, a Honeybaked Ham Co. ham. It's got remnants of ham on it, and it's still in the foil with the juices in the bottom. My aunt also gave me a jar of a bunch of different kinds of beans to use with the ham bone. She told me to put it in my crock pot with water 2 inches above the beans, but I didn't really

Comments

[ionracas]

Soak the beans in cold water overnight, then rinse and put in the slow cooker with the ham. You can cook on high for 3-5 hours or low for 5-8 hours usually, the liquid won't cook away because the lid's on. I would season with salt, pepper, and bay leaf, and add some sauteed onion, carrot, and celery.

[kadevha]

This is essentially how I make beans. Don't season the beans until they are done as the salt could make the bean skins tough.

Personally, I don't care for veggies in bean soup but ymmv. Also, you might be surprised at just how much salt beans will need.

[blueyz72]

Soaking the beans does help so that's good. I don't add as much seasoning with a ham bone as I do with beef or chicken bones to flavor, but outside of beans I have found that sweet potato is a good veggie with ham soup. I did it my first time 'just because' I had one but now I love the taste and texture together, even in a bean soup.

[syntheticjesso]

Hmmmm, I do have sweet potato. I bet it would go great with the saltiness of the ham, too. Thanks for the idea!

[sheherazahde]

I had some wonderful Ham and bean soup for dinner yesterday

[syntheticjesso]

Thanks for the tips. I don't really like onions, so I think I'll just dice up one and string it up in some cheesecloth to let it flavor the beans without ending up in the actual soup.

How do you usually eat it? I was thinking of having it in a bowl with a piece of bread, but if it's your favorite do you have any better ideas?

[sheherazahde]

The onion flavor is the important thing, so if you want to pull out the fiber after the flavor is released that should work fine. Although in my experience onions dissolve completely with long slow cooking, such as is needed for beans

[ext_953406]

I make a nice salad to go with the beans,its a good combo !

[janewilliams20]

Seconding the idea of soaking those beans overnight beforehand, in as much water as they need, and allowing for swelling.

[syntheticjesso]

Do they really swell a whole lot?

[janewilliams20]

"It depends". Sometimes very little, but the one time I didn't allow much space I woke up to a lot of water and beans on the floor. Can't hurt to allow for it, I'd say.

[syntheticjesso]

Good to know! I'll go ahead and use the 6-quart crock for my crock pot then. Thanks!