Southern Ham and Brown Beans Recipe

I give this 4 out of 5 because it is a good recipe true to form, but there are some techniques that could help make sure the beans turn out the way you want them to - that is, nice and creamy beans in a relatively thick cooking liquid. So here's the trick: brine your beans overnight in plenty of water and 2-3 tablespoons of salt. You may worry they'll be salty. They will be. But you'll dump a lot of that salty water off. Because you've done this, don't add any salt to the recipe until the end to suit your tastes. Since you've now brined them, add them to the pot with water to cover, add your other ingredients (I soften my onion and garlic in a little oil over medium heat first), and bring to a boil. Reduce to a VIGOROUS simmer for 45-60 minutes. Stir occasionally. That simmer will give you the thick cooking liquid. After that, you can add more seasonings or ham if you like, and continue to simmer until your beans are all nice and soft - maybe up to 30 minutes or so. Another note, I love to use up a left over ham bone if there's one lying around, and add a bay leaf or 2 to the mix. If you have bean issues (your beans are always crumbly and not creamy), then definitely give these tips a whirl and see if it doesn't help!

This turned out better than takeout!

These were the best pinto beans we've ever had. I only made a few minor changes. First, because of the problems with gas that beans can cause, I added the beans only to the water, brought to boil and let sit for 1 hr, then drained them. I didn't have any ham hocks, but did have some ham in the freezer and used about 1 lb of that. I sauteed the ham, onion, and garlic slightly before adding the beans AND, instead of all water, used 1/2 water and 1/2 low sodium chicken stock. My husband loved them. This is the only way I'll be fixing pinto beans from now on.

YUMMY! Can I give this 10 stars? I used this base recipe and made it in 1 hour in my pressure cooker. I started by thoroughly rinsing the pinto beans then adding it to the cooker with 10 cups of water (broth not needed, salt slows the cooking of beans + extra salt flavor not needed in final product) and the ham bone, then cooked on high pressure for 8 min. I allowed 15 min of natural release, then opened the valve to quick release the remaining steam. Meanwhile I prepared the remaining ingredients including 2-3 chopped celery stalks and cooked them in 1 Tbsp EVOO to blend flavors. After adding all the remaining ingredients ( including 2 bay leaves-yum) to the beans and water, I pressure cooked them on high for 20 min. I allowed a natural release (about 15-20min) before opening. The beans were perfectly cooked! I prefer my soup a little thicker so I removed the ham bone, strained out about 2 cups of beans, then used my immersion blender to roughly chop the remaining beans and veggies. After replacing the 2c beans, it was the perfect consistency. I served it over homesteader cornbread (WOW) from this site.

Love this! My family eats this about twice a month. My teenagers ask for it by name, surprisingly. I'll substitute a pound of bacon if I don't have a ham bone, but it's best with the ham bone. Also, I've started making it in my Instant Pot. Just cut the water to 4 cups and cook on high pressure for about 80-90 minutes. Then mash some of the beans with a potato masher to thicken the broth.

Instead of half water and low sodium chicken broth, I only used the chicken broth. (8 cups) I stir fried the onions, garlic (4 cloves), hamhocks & the hambone first...until a fond developed on the stock pot's bottom. Then I added the beans (soaked overnight) and stir fried them for about 2 minutes before adding the chicken broth. As suggested, cooked on high for a full hour, then simmered for 2 hours. (Gas cook range) A dash of salt is added after serving. DELICIOUS AND EASY RECIPE!!!

Instead of half water and low sodium chicken broth, I only used the chicken broth. (8 cups) I stir fried the onions, garlic (4 cloves), hamhocks & the hambone first...until a fond developed on the stock pot's bottom. Then I added the beans (soaked overnight) and stir fried them for about 2 minutes before adding the chicken broth. As suggested, cooked on high for a full hour, then simmered for 2 hours. (Gas cook range) A dash of salt is added after serving. DELICIOUS AND EASY RECIPE!!!

My wife was very happy with this dish last night. I did add a 4 oz can of green chiles to the recipe, but the rest was straight. I am glad I found a post by the recipe's originator that half the liquid is chicken stock and to leave the salt until the end. The flavor was very good. I chucked the ham hock after six hours and diced up some good ham for the last few minutes on the stove. With cornbread and crispy fried potatoes, this is a great meal. ETA 6/17/23: I don't use a ham hock at all now. I use 8 oz. of a good ham instead.

Very down-home and tasty. What I changed: I soaked my beans overnight. I put all ingredients; beans, onion & garlic, ham hock, water & chicken broth, plus seasonings, into my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. Set it on high pressure for 40 minutes. Let pressure come down naturally for about 10-15 minutes, then opened. So delicious! Came out perfectly. Will make again for my family.

I make this and variations on it all the time. I do, however recommend buying ham shanks versus hocks as there is much more meat on the shanks. I also boil my hocks/skanks until the meat falls off the bone and the marrow has all melted into the liquid. Then I can remove the bones and whatever fat I want to before adding the beans, onions, and spices, etc. Then all I have to worry about is the texture of the beans and the cornbread that’s in my cast iron skillet in the oven or my smoker. If the shanks/hocks I buy aren’t smoked I add a bit of liquid smoke to the pot. One of my go-to comfort meals.

Great flavor, will definitely make again! Made a few changes to soaking time to remove as much oligosaccharides - indigestible sugars which cause flatulence - as possible from the beans. Step 1: Soak 1 lb pinto beans in 8 cups water overnight in covered pot, soak time 17 hours - NO SALT added Step 2: Rinse beans and pot very well with cold water; add beans and 8 cups water back to pot, bring to boil then promptly remove from heat. Let sit undisturbed for 3 1/2 hours in covered pot - NO SALT added. Step 3: Rinse beans and pot very well. Step 4: Back to pot, add beans, onion, garlic, 2 tsp chili powder, black pepper, 2 meaty ham hocks plus one ham steak cut into 1 inch pieces (ham steak adds salt to dish), cover with 4 cups of water & 4 cups no sodium chicken stock - NO SALT added. Step 5: Simmer in covered pot on med-low for 3 hours. - NO SALT added. Step 6: Mix 1/4 cup flour with 3/4 cup water until smooth. Stir slowly into bean soup mixture. Simmer an additional 45 minutes. - NO SALT added. Step 7: Dish into bowl, top with diced red onion and salt individually according to taste. Served with corn bread.

So yummy! I added Cayenne along with the chili powder and let the hubby add salt to his liking but other than that I changed nothing. Thanks for the recipe.

This is so good. I did use half water and half chicken stock as the recipe originator recommended (two heaping tsp better than bullion in four cups of water) and I cooked it in the oven at 300 degrees. These beans go with everything. A fantastic side dish. Could be an easy lunch by itself or with some crusty bread or corn bread. I went back for seconds.

I took the original authors recommendation and used 4 cups chicken stock and 4 cups water. Another time I was pressed for time and substituted six cans of beans, drained, and used only 4 cups chicken stock. Both times it was absolutely delicious!

I made this version for the first time today to share with a neighbor. Absolutely delicious. I did replace part of the water with homemade unsalted chicken broth. About 3 cups.

The flavors in this were amazing. We used our Honey Baked Ham hock and there was a nice bit of meat on the bone. It has been added to my rotation!

Tastes heavenly.

When I am in the mood for Ham and Beans, I always use this recipe.

My husband loved it!

These beans are perfect and they taste like home, if that makes sense.