Ham hocks with pinto beans are one of the favorite food for southern people, In tradition they serve it with cornbread and they pairs well with burritos and barbecue or tacos, also with fried chicken. And it is the best potluck meal. The ham hocks gives beans that taste and becomes a full dish by its own. For meat lovers, you could add more ham to the recipe. You will need to start this meal at night to give beans much time to get soaked very well.
To keep this plate traditional make sure to serve it with fresh hot cornbread or corn muffins, and if you like relish add a tablespoon of your choice as chow chow alongside the beans.
You could also serve this meal with sweet pickle relish and corn relish, or tomato chutney. And for a balanced dish add any salad of your choice.
Pinto beans needed stuff:
- Good quality colander
- A huge mixing bowl
- Best slow cooker
this is a quick and easy to make flavorful recipe,it takes few minutes to get served, you could serve it with the crusty bread you have, next time I will add some sausage with it.
Pinto beans and ham hocks ingredients:
- One pound of dried pinto beans
- Two small hocks or one large smoked ham
- Two bay leaves
- One tablespoon or half of red pepper flakes
- Six cups of water divide them
- Salt of kosher to taste
- Fresh ground pepper
Steps:
- Bring the ingredients.
- Clean your beans under the water in a colander.
- Make sure to clean beans from any unwanted things as damaged pieces or small pebbles.
- Soak the beans in a large bowl in water overnight or for 6 hours.
- After soaking the beans, place it in the crock pot with ham hocks and bay leaves then add red chili flakes and water.
- Cook it in the covered crock pot on high heat for about 6 hours or more until get soft.
- Take out the bay leaves and hams and dice it, then return it to the pot with kosher salt to taste. Add black pepper and mix everything together and serve it.
Some tips:
- if you soak your beans overnight or for 6 hours at first you will have less time of cooking, but if you skip this step you will be so slow in cooking.
- if you had some leftovers of ham hook it's nice to freeze it make sure to wrap it very well and store it in the freezer for about 6 months.
- should I wash the hams before cooking? the smoked hams are already cooked so you don't need to wash it but if you bring fresh ham hocks make sure to smoke it by yourself this type of meat gives the flavor to this recipe.
Some instructions:
- If you like more flavors, try to add garlic to the beans before cooking.
- Or add a medium diced onion to the beans, to get that rich flavor.
- For more colors and textures, add bell pepper of your choice to the beans.
- For a Mexican flavor, add more chili powder and cumin with a small can of diced tomatoes and cook it for more 20 minutes. Then serve it as you like.
- If you are vegetarian, you could remove the hams and add more seasoning and veggies to taste.
- And to give your meal that smoky flavor add smoked paprika or liquid smoke to the pinto beans.
Enjoy your food.
