Name: Appalachian Soup Beans
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 500 g dried pinto beans, rinsed; 400 g smoked ham hock; 1 onion, chopped; 2 litres water; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp ground black pepper; 1 onion, finely chopped, to serve; 2 tbsp cider vinegar, to serve

Appalachian Soup Beans

Pinto beans simmered with a smoked ham hock and onion until soft and creamy, served with cornbread and raw onion.

2 hr 15 min total Serves 6 servings Easy

Make Ahead and Storage

Keeps in the fridge for 5 days and freezes for up to 3 months.

How to Make Appalachian Soup Beans

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Put the beans, ham hock, chopped onion, bay leaf and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
Cook with the lid slightly ajar for 100 minutes, topping up with hot water if needed, until the beans are soft.
Add the salt and pepper. Mash a few beans against the side of the pot and simmer for 15 minutes more.
Lift out the hock, shred the meat and return it to the pot. Remove the bay leaf. Serve with the raw onion and vinegar.

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Tips for Success

Add the salt late; early salt can toughen the skins.
Top up with hot water, not cold, if the pot gets dry.
Check a bean for tenderness before adding salt.

Some Background

A pot of soup beans is a staple of the Appalachian table, and it feeds a family for pennies. Pinto beans simmered slowly with a ham hock and nothing else make a broth that is rich, smoky and slightly creamy, and the beans are served in bowls with a wedge of cornbread to crumble in.

The method asks very little. Rinse the beans, put them in a pot with the ham hock, onion and water, and bring them to a simmer. Salt goes in only near the end, as it can toughen the skins if added early. A steady, gentle simmer, with the lid slightly ajar, will cook them in about two hours.

Mash a few beans against the side of the pot toward the end to thicken the broth to a creamy texture. Pull the meat from the hock, discard the bone and fat, and return the meat to the pot. Serve with raw chopped onion, a splash of vinegar or hot sauce, and cornbread. Leftovers are, if anything, better the next day.

Serving Ideas

Cornbread · Raw onion · Fried potatoes · Collard greens

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Philadelphia Soft Pretzels, 3 Ingredient Biscuits, Air Fryer Asparagus.