Appalachian Soup Beans

[Kathleen]

Over the weekend, I made a pot of soup beans. My grandmother made them with Cornfield beans, but I made mine with pintos. They are easy to make and I thought I would share the recipe for this decidedly country dish.

1 - pound of dried beans (I like cornfield beans best, but pintos worked fine)
1 - small piece of meaty salt pork
Black pepper
water

Rinse the beans well and be sure no pebbles or debris are in the beans. Cover them with cold water (an inch of water above the beans) and let set over night. (You can also bring them to a boil and let them soak for 1-2 hours.) Drain and rinse well.

Cover with fresh water to an inch over the beans again. If you do not like salty beans, rinse the salt pork. Score the salt pork and place fat/meat side down into the beans. Add black pepper. (maybe 2 teaspoons or more depending on taste.)

Bring to boil and simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Add water, if needed. Stir occasionally less they stick to the bottom. If the salt pork is meaty, remove the fat from the meat, chop the meat, and add back to the beans. Discard the fat.

That's it! If you want, you can cook longer so the beans start to cook apart. Or you can mash a bit of the beans and allow the mashed beans to thicken the soup some.

I serve it with cornbread (without sugar) and some small green onions. Fresh tomatoes. Fried potatoes. Anything rounds out a meal.

Does anyone have any other favorite country bean recipes?

~Kathleen

 

[Janet H]

This looks yummy and easy to do Do you have a favorite cornbread recipe as well?


I rarely make beans but sometimes make black beans or swedish brown beans.

When I do black beans I usually add Cumin, garlic, green pepper, red onion and most importantly bay leaves. The cooking method is about the same as yours though and the veggies get sweated in olive oil before adding beans and seasonings.

 

[Kathleen]

My favorite cornbread

JanetH,

Your bean recipe sounds terrific! I love beans because there are so many things to do with them and you can totally change the feel of the meal by adding herbs and/or spices. Frank is less enamored with beans though.

I do have a favorite cornbread recipe. Since there is just the two of us, I use a smaller cast iron skillet (8 inches.) I measure nearly nothing, so here is my try to explain it.

While mixing the rest up, I preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and set the skillet over low heat.

Mix together:
1 cup of white corn meal
1 heaping tablespoon of all-purpose flour
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Add 1/2 tablespoon of Crisco to the skillet and continue to heat. Just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet.

Add a beaten egg and 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and beat together until smooth. (Thicker batter will make a dryer cornbread and thinner will be spongier and moist.)

Pour the batter into the hot skillet. It should sizzle. Take your time to scrape all of the batter in. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until done.

~Kathleen

 

[Janet H]

Have you ever substituted buttermilk powder in that recipe? I don't usually stock buttermilk.... but the recipe looks really good - I love the high corn meal to flour ratio

 

[Kathleen]

I've never used the powder so, if you try it with buttermilk, let me know how it worked out! Honestly, I've never used the powder and it would be handy. I often have to throw out buttermilk that expires.

 

[Andy M.]

I use it regularly rather than buying buttermilk that I end up throwing out. It works just fine.

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks! I will have to give it a try!