Recipe Mom's Ham and Bean Soup

[Lynne Guinne]

MOM'S HAM AND BEAN SOUP

1 bag Navy beans (16 oz)
ham bone with meat
1 onion
pepper to taste
carrots, potatoes (quantity up to you)
fried bacon, cut in 1/4 inch pieces - save drippings
flour for roux

Soak beans overnight. Drain and set aside. Bring 6-8 cups water to boil with bone; skim soup, then add beans, onion and pepper. Meanwhile, fry bacon, remove from drippings and set bacon aside. Leave drippings in pan, turn heat to very low, add equal amount flour, and prepare roux, stirring frequently. The ultimate roux is toasty brown and almost powdery. Prepare at least until very thick and golden. Set aside.

While roux is cooking you can peel and cut potatoes and carrots. I like mine diced small, but you can make them a bit larger if you prefer. About an hour before soup is done remove ham from soup, add carrots and potatoes. When ham cools cut meat away from the bone and fat, add meat back to pot. When potatoes and carrots are tender bring soup temperature up, add roux and simmer until soup is thick.

 

[Francesca]

@Lynne Guinne

Nice classic ..

Have a lovely day ..

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

ham bone with meat

Yes! This is the key to a flavorful soup. My wife's father sometimes makes split pea soup, with chunks of ham in it, and it was never anything special until he decided to throw the ham bone into the pot. It was sensational! If anyone's looking at this recipe and thinking it'll be just as good without the bone, they're very wrong!

 

[Lynne Guinne]

@The Late Night Gourmet, I agree about the bone. If I'm craving this soup and don't have one on hand, I make a point of buying a couple of smoked pork shanks to toss in the pot with a cut-up ham steak. I add the pieces of ham steak late in the cooking time, since the real flavor comes from those shanks, their cartilage and fat. Not much meat on them, but lots of flavor.

 

[jennyb]

This thread has reminded me of pea and ham soup which should also be made with bones. A good winter warmer.

 

[ElizabethB]

I love bean soups. I use smoke cured ham hocks. The hocks are skin on with a nice amount of meat. When nearly done I remove the hocks, take off the skin and pull the meat away from the bone. The meat goes back in the soup.