I’ve been thinking a lot lately about revisiting some of the foods I ate a lot during my childhood. The most recent trip down memory lane led me to a big pot of pinto beans.
Yes, of course, I currently eat beans as a part of my diet, but I haven’t cooked them the same way my family does . . . ever? (One of my favorite meals growing up was a bowl of pinto beans and cornbread with a little pickle relish on top.) And let’s face it, beans are delicious, healthy, and cheap. What more could you be looking for in a food item?
One big reason I haven’t made beans not from a can is that it requires the forethought to soak dried beans overnight. [Update: I’ve since learned that you don’t actually need to soak beans. However, many believe that doing so makes them less gassy.]
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, one lesson I learned is that you want to cover the dry beans with A LOT of water. It makes sense now that I type it, but I neglected to consider the fact that the beans will actually absorb some of the liquid as they sit. Needless to say, I discovered that some of my beans were no longer submerged when I pulled them from the refrigerator the next day. (To try to remedy this, I added more water and let them continue to sit for a couple of hours before cooking.)
Aside from the small soaking snafu, the rest of the cooking process is a breeze. Throw the beans in a pot along with an onion, smoked ham hocks (the key ingredient), a couple of bay leaves (optional), some liquid (I used a combo of chicken stock and water), and you’re good to go.
I’m not entirely convinced that the bay leaves do a whole lot, but people much smarter than I say that they do, so I tend to include them anyway.
The resulting recipe is my take on this Southern classic. Admittedly, I just wanted the onion to flavor the beans and planned to remove it, but the halved bulbs ended up practically melting into the cooking liquid, full of flavor from the smoked ham hock (and bay leaves).
One other note is that anything more than a gentle simmer causes during cooking some of the beans to break down, adding body to the liquid. I prefer it this way, but this is certainly not what I was taught in culinary school.
When they’re done the beans should have an almost creamy texture. As a last step, you’ll want to pick the meat from the bones of the ham hock to mix in with the luscious beans and get the most out of its delicious flavor.
Pinto Beans With Ham Hocks Recipe
Pinto beans with smoked ham hocks are a Southern classic. You could eat a bowl of these by themselves and be satisfied, but they also make a great side dish.
Ingredients
- One 1-pound 11-ounce package pinto beans, picked through and soaked in lots of water overnight (optional)
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 quart water
- 1 onion, halved or roughly chopped
- 2 halves smoked ham hock (about 3/4 pound total)
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, plus more to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the soaked beans, chicken stock, water, onion, ham hocks, and bay leaves (if using) to a large stock pot.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nice and tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Season with pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Serve.
Notes
This recipe used the entire package of beans I purchased and makes a large quantity, but can be scaled for smaller amounts.
I have a pot on the stove now – 3rd time I’ve made them since finding this recipe in March. I’m 59 and have made beans my whole life, but this is now my go to recipe. I make them exactly as written with the bay leaf. So simple , easy and good. I freeze the leftovers for an easy camping dish!
A hour and 30 min??
Pretty basic it’s better if you throw some Liquid Smoke some, Molasses, some honey ..I like a little Creole powder and bunch of garlic diced …sometimes I throw in a can of corn, and a few leftovers out of the refrigerator… pretty damn good then
You’re entitled to your own opinion.
Well, isn’t that nice of you !!!
You didn’t make this recipe you made something completely different. Your review is not valid.
That would ruin this classic recipe! Love it theway it is just like my daddy used to make ❤
I agree. In 61 and this is my new bean recipe!
Why is this even the same recipe with all your additions!?
Molasses is a key ingredient. I use it in chili and people say is doe not make them gassy.
Also carrots added to the beans will reduce gas. Just don’t eat the carrots.
EW. My mom made a recipe similar to the one above; she brought it from Alabama. It’s simplicity made it delicious, not adding anything but the kitchen sink!
Anybody know how many quarts this makes? Also, what the equivalent number of canned beans instead of bagged?
It yields about 3 quarts.
I want to add some pork skins but I am unsure of when to add them or if I should cook them for a bit first or if I should place them in the oven? Can you please give me some insight on this Hungry Hutch?
Raw pork skin? I’m not familiar with cooking it. I think you could just cut it up and throw it in with the beans, but if you want to make it crispy, then cook it separately. It looks like there are some recipes online for you.
I have a question about the ham hocks. I bought them frozen and it says to cook before eating so I have to defrost them?
You can throw them in frozen with the beans to cook and they’ll be fine.
Use the bag beans the taste so much better than canned and you don’t have the added sodium.You can put them in the crackpot and forget them while you do other things 6 hrs later they are ready to eat.
Can you use lentils (dried and soaked over night) instead of beans?
I don’t believe you need to soak lentils. Also, I believe they would take less time than beans, so I’m not sure if they would be a good replacement for this recipe.
Do I need to soak the beans or can I just cook them with the ham hock all the same time
No, you don’t need to soak the beans. Just note that if you don’t, it might take longer to cook and you might need to add more liquid to the pot as it’s cooking.
Their also dirty and at least need to be washed good..
My mother made beans almost every day. She never soaked her beans and neither do I. I don’t like the results of soaking overnight. The beans lose their shape and after cooking only the skins are left. Mother simply dipped her finger in the water then in a box of bicarbonate of soda a few times. It sweetens the water enough so that the beans cook in a few hours. If the beans did not cream the cook liquid enough, mother would mash a few of them to give a creamier texture to the liquid. Also, she always added some lard–you could use any pork meat drippings such as bacon grease, but beans need fat for flavor. Mother never added onion but I always do and sometimes garlic or a little brown sugar, but I have never added bay leaves to pinto beans. Always to white beans, but not pinto.
Beans were always served with fried potatoes and mother’s beet pickles. She always canned beet pickles and we only ate them with beans. In the spring or summer, they were usually accompanied by wild greens or spinach and fresh garden tomatoes and onions.
Almost the same here… sliced garden tomatoes abs garden onions sliced fried potatoes cooked in a cast iron skillet cornbread
My mom NEVER soaked the beans just continued to add water as the level boiled down and she cut up salt pork to season the beans
I cook them her way?
With most ham hocks, there’s plenty of fat, and no need to add more.
Also, mother always told me never to add salt to the beans until they were done or the salt would make them hard and they wouldn’t cook up. I always keep a large glass of water on hand when cooking beans. It’s easy to forget them and if they get dry and scorch, there is nothing that tastes worse than scorched or burnt beans. Sometimes you can save a pot by immediately removing them from the heat and pouring them into another container. DO NOT STIR! And only save what does not stick to the pot. Taste later for any scorched flavor and if there is, discard and start over. When I say they were accompanied by wild greens, I mean poke, lamb’s quarter, curly dock, wild lettuce, mustard greens and spinach–all cooked together in a large pot, then drained and sauteed in bacon fat and some diced onions until almost dry of liquid. Then break 2 to 3 eggs over top and stir them into the greens when the begin to set. Great eats!
Sounds soooo good Herschel! I’ll be right over!
Herschel,
That sounds yummy. I’d love to try that mixture of greens! I tried poke last year hoping it grows again to try it again. I’ve also tried stinging nettle.
It says a quart which means 4 cups so I did that. 4 cups water. 4 cups chicken broth. It’s been over 1 and 1/2 hours. My beans have so much liquid in them. Is this right
The beans should have absorbed some of the liquid. If it’s still more liquid that you want, you can cook it uncovered so that the liquid reduces.
Has anyone considered doing the same recipe but cooking it in the crockpot for 6-8 hours?
Yep I do it by all the time.
Thank you for this awesome classic and delicious recipe. Almost EXACTLY like my Mom’s (may she RIP) old recipe taught to her by her Mama(my Gramma may she also RIP) My Gramma lived through the depression and raised 3 girls ALONE. They lived in a very poor area of Lubbock TX(apparently kids** divorce &/or being a single parent or simply being a woman in the 1950’s with small children who HAD to work to survive W/O a man(husband) was unherd of /looked down on/inappropriate’ one can imagine the other kinds of things that were deemed ‘inappropriate’ during this time, area in very Southern Babtist and very poor very segregated and very conservative time/place/era/area) IDK why I just typed all that, I had a question. Could I use pork butt instead of hocks. I was gonna sear pork WELL on all sides do everything else the same. Longer in time cooking for meat?
Yes, you can use pork butt, but it won’t give the same flavor to the beans. (The ham hocks have been smoked.) And yes, just make sure the pork is cooked all the way through before serving.
What about oxtails? Will it ruin the flavor?
It won’t ruin the flavor, but it won’t taste the same as I intended. I like ham hocks because they’re smoked and add some smokiness to the beans.
I just wanna say thank you very much for this recipe I am making it for the first time today and I can’t wait to taste it
Enjoy!
This is pretty much my mom’s recipe except she put chopped celery in it as well, but I wasn’t a fan of the celery but it tastes so good!! The only thing I would suggest is adding a batch of cornbread on the side of chopped up in the soup… Yum
I definitely recommend cornbread to go with it!
I didn’t have all the items for this recipe. Instead, I used red beans (dried), beef broth, smoked ham shank, garlic, 5-Spice, brown sugar, Red onion, bay leaves & coconut milk. BEST TASTING BEANS EVER! I do plan to make the pinto beans as per this recipe in the future.
How long do I cook the beans if not needed to soak? The 1 hour and 30 minutes?
The timing can vary. Start checking the beans 15 minutes or so before then. (So 1 hour 15 minutes.) And then keep tasting them until they’re your desired texture.
I have a pot on the stove cooking now, we shall see how they taste later. But they smell yummy 😋
I make my beans without the chicken broth but basically the same recipe. I love it. Used to use great northern beans but pinto beans are way better.
Im making a pot right to the directions except the stove I’ve got mine in the crockpot, i did everything else the way you said ..i got to tell you it smells so good ill give an update, its my husbands bday today and he wanted this and corn bread…simple at 62 ..thank you for sharing.
Can I use beef stock instead?
I prefer the cleaner flavor of chicken stock with the ham hock, but you can use beef stock if you wish.