Hearty Ham Bone Soups
By Brenda Hyde
Bone-in hams, when bought on sale, are one of the
most frugal cuts
of meat you can use. Your main meal uses the meatiest part of the
ham.
Dice any bigger sections of ham that are left and use within three
days
or freeze for using in casseroles. The bone that is left will have
SO much flavor and a lot of meat closer to the bone. This is perfect
for
hearty bean soups. As with the meat, if you can't use the bone
within
three days freeze it in a freezer bag and use in the recipes below.
There
really is no need to thaw it beforehand-just toss it in the
soup pan!
Blackeyed Peas and Ham
Ingredients:
1 pound dried blackeyed peas
2 ham hocks or a ham bone with ham left on it
Pepper to taste
onions, sliced
hot sauce
Place the ham bones or hocks in a crock pot, add
the peas after they
have been rinsed (but not soaked), and cover with water completely.
Cook
all day on low, or 4 or 5 hours on high. Crock pots vary, so keep
checking.
You may need to add more water. Stir a couple of times
while checking.
Some
people like them almost mushy, but I like them not quite that
soft. Season with
pepper if you wish. Serve with slices of onion
and hot sauce-a smooth cayenne
variety.
Bean Soup with Ham
Ingredients:
1 ham bone with some meat left on
2 cups Navy, Northern beans or mixed beans
8 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Wash beans the beans and add to a medium to large
pan on the stove.
Cover with water, boil, and turn off the heat. Let these sit about
a 1/2 hour. Drain the beans, and place all the ingredients in the
crock
pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or so, then switch to low
and continue to cook. You want the beans to be done, but not mushy.
Add more water if needed to make it a soup consistency as it
cooks. Cut the meat off the bone and put in with the beans and
remove the bay leaf before serving.
Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups dried black beans
1 ham bone with meat still on
6 cups water
4 cups vegetable or ham broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 tomato diced (or about a half can-drained well)
1 cup chopped ham (optional)
1 tablespoon vinegar
You can soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator,
covered with
water, but what I usually do is place the dried beans in a pan,
cover
with water, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow them
to
sit for one hour. Drain and rinse with either method, then add
them
to a large pot with the water, broth and the ham bone. You can
add
salt if you wish, but most hams are pretty salty. Simmer, covered,
for
about 1 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. Remove the bone and
take off any meat-add back to the pot. Sauté the
onion, tomato
and ham if you had extra that you diced, until the onion is soft.
Stir in the
vinegar to this mixture and add all to the soup. Simmer for 20
more
minutes and serve. You can offer hot sauce and chopped onion as
toppings
for each person's bowl of soup.
Split Pea Soup
Ingredients:
one ham bone with remaining meat
1 cup minced onions
2 tsp.. black pepper
1 pound dried split peas, green or yellow
1 cup chopped carrot
Place the ham bone and other ingredients to a crock
pot. Just cover with
water, and cook on low all day long or high for 4-6 hours. I cook
my
peas til they are fairly mushy, but you can cook less if you like
them less done. We always ate big bowls of this soup with bread
and
butter. Very simple! If the meat isn't falling off the ham bone,
remove and
use a fork to remove it and place the meat into the
soup. Discard
the bone. Season with salt if desired.
