Bean soup recipe wanted

[dirtdog892]

Ok I got a full rear ham from work for Christmas.
Its already smoked but I need a recipe for Bean soup with Ham.
I have shaved as much as I could off the bone and have the bone boiling right now to peal away the rest of the ham.
Not sure how long to boil the damm thing in order to get the hoove tender but the rest of it should not take long.

I personally like a thick broth soup so any help is welcome.

[pelican_beak]

ok - I know this is really late, but maybe it will help for next time. I'm from Biloxi, Ms. - near New Orleans, so we know sumpin sumpin bout beans.

I always soak my beans overnight. Then throw out the water.
I saute a couple of onions in butter and olive oil. I then add cut up sausage. I buy the beef Hillshire Farm big link - the regular not spicy (I'm a wimp).
Add some flour (normally the same ratio as to amt of oil/butter used) - this is making a roux
I use water with chicken boullion cubes soaked - stir it together.
The roux will kind of clump together. Add a little of the water mixture. It will thicken. Add some more - again it will thicken.
I'm not sure how much I add all together, but it will completely cover all your beans and the ham bone.
I add garlic, onion powder, basil, salt, pepper, and a little sugar.
I cook this for about 3 to 5 hours. This all depends on the stove and the bean. Black-eyed-peas cook quicker than red beans.
I like to cook mine slowly.

btw - Whenever I have a ham bone left over, I wrap it in seran wrap and put it in the freezer. I put it right into the bean pot while it's frozen. After several hours, I take it out and cut all the meat off the bone, and return the meat to the beans. Discard bone.

I hope this made sense. It's really not that hard. If you don't want to soak them overnight - bring the beans to a boil and strain them. You don't want all that murky stuff. Plus soaking overnight kind of softens them a little.

[shyne]

I'm from NY and know little about beans......except they're good baked.
Pelican, I never go beyond pea soup when I have a ham bone. Thanks for the recipe and idea.

I love homemade soup, especially on a wintry night.
My favorite bean soup:

Brown about a pound of sweet Italian sausage, broken up, in a small amount of olive oil.
Remove sausage and drain fat off.
Sweat a large chopped onion, two chopped celery stalks in about 1 tablespoon of butter, and then add crushed garlic (you choose amount) for about two minutes.
Return sausage to onion/celery pot; add about two cups of chopped canned plum tomatoes with juice; one can each of small red kidney beans, small white beans, and black beans; about 5 cups chicken broth; two bay leaves; pepper.
Simmer about two hours.
About ten minutes from serving, I add any leftover vegs from the fridge and/or some frozen, about a handful of pasta, and a flour/butter roux.

Serve with crusty bread......good.
It freezes well, too, which means you don't have to cook one other night. I like that part!

[Fredi*Frogi]

I buy a 15 bean dry soup mix and i discard the little packet of seasonings that come with it...mostly cuz it has all kinds of beans...you can soak them over nite, but if you cook them in a crock pot/slow cooker all day you'll never know you didn't soak them...if you do soak, them discard the water and rinse very well...none of that water should be cooked with, its kind of icky

i've been sauteing the onions and celery in a bit of butter and some chicken stock (from a can/box) its been really good that way...

we've never had a bone in ham (i've got one in the freezer now, from mr. frogi's work...i dont know when i'll cook it...two people do not need a whole bone in ham!!! LOL) so what i've got is chunks of ham saved from the last boneless ham we had, they are in the freezer, i thaw enough to get them out of the vac-pac bag they are in.

I put the beans in the slow cooker, put enough water to cover, add the onions/celery mixture and enough water to cover, then i add my spices...this depends on what day it is in relationship to how i feel, lol...i'm talking anything from just a bit of salt & pepper to mrs dash or riley's seasoning...i'm telling you it really depends on the day of the week!! LOL

then i add the ham and cook on med/low (#2 on my slow cooker which is an exact copy, purchased at yard sale, to the slow cooker my mom got when her and my dad got married...in 1976!! LOL i LOVE it! i'd almost be lost with out it!)

then they cook all day....then i proceed to consums them for the next week b/c mr. frogi hates beans!! LOL

i think if you start with good beans, your bean soup/ham & beans will be good!! I do prefer it on the thicker side, so i use less water...as the beans cook they absorb the water and thicken it a bit...white northern is good...black eyed peas are good, black beans are good (word from the wise, black beans will make EVERYTHING black including the meat and mr.frogi *really* won't eat it!! LOL) i like the 15 bean mix cuz i like a lot of different beans...and when i make veggie soup i dump half a bag of them, dont tell mr. frogi he'll quit eating it!!! LOL (I also like wax beans in my veggie soup...)