Country Ham Bean Soup With Smoked Sausage Recipes

SMOKY WHITE BEAN AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Quick-soak the beans: Place the beans in a medium pot and cover with 2 to 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain in a colander.
• Place the drained beans into a 5.5-quart Dutch oven or large pot. Add the water, chicken stock, bay leaves, quartered onion, and ham hocks. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer over low heat until the beans are just tender, about 1 hour (depending on the size of the beans, it could take a bit longer).
• Once the beans are tender, pull out the bay leaves, onion remnants, and ham hocks. Discard the bay leaves and onions, but set the ham hocks aside to cool.
• Add the minced onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. While the soup is cooking, and when the ham hocks are cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the hocks, discard any bone, fat, and tough sinew, and chop the meat finely.
• Use a ladle to transfer about 2 cups of the beans and vegetables, along with a bit of broth, to a blender or food processor. (If using a blender, be sure to remove the center knob on the lid and cover with a dishtowel to avoid splatters.) Purée until smooth, and then stir the mixture back into the soup. Add the meat and kale to the soup and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary (I usually add about 1 teaspoon more; beans require a lot of salt to bring out their flavor). At this point, you can serve the soup or refrigerate it for up to 3 days. (It will thicken up in the fridge; thin it with a bit of water, if necessary.)
• When you're ready to eat, garnish each bowl with a drizzle with olive oil (if using) and a heap of grated cheese.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. through.

COUNTRY HAM & BEAN SOUP WITH SMOKED SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. Place dried beans in a LARGE pot and pick through to check for stones. Rinse beans, drain and add water to cover by at least 2 inches. Soak at least 8 hours or overnight.
• 2. After soaking, drain beans, rinse, drain again and add 2 quarts water**, flavoring packet (that comes with beans) and 2 envelopes of ham flavoring. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (Note: you may have to add more water during this step to make sure beans are covered with liquid.) ** OR, INSTEAD OF PLAIN WATER, PLACE A HAM BONE IN A LARGE DUTCH OVEN AND ADD WATER TO COVER HALF OF BONE. ADD 2 BAY LEAVES AND A SLICED ONION TO THE POT. BRING TO A BOIL, REDUCE HEAT. COVER AND SIMMER FOR 1 TO 2 HOURS. REMOVE BONE AND STRAIN BROTH. USE THIS BROTH INSTEAD OF PLAIN WATER. Take any meat off of the bone and add to soup with the rest of the meat as mentioned in Step 3.
• 3. After simmering for 1 hour, add onion, carrot, potato, ham, sausage, bay leaves and 2 more envelopes ham flavoring to pot. Simmer an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often, until beans are soft and begin to break apart.
• 4. Add chicken broth (enough to make desired consistency) and quick cooking barley (and more ham flavoring if needed). Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until barley is cooked.
• 5. Serve with salad and crusty bread.
• 6. FREEZES WELL!!

SAUSAGE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook and crumble sausage with onion and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes; drain., Stir in beans, tomatoes, basil and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Serve with cheese.

SMOKED SAUSAGE AND BAKED BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
• Add the celery, carrot and onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes, white beans (and their liquid), baked beans, chicken broth and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the soup thickens slightly and the tomatoes just start bursting, about 20 minutes.
• Return the sausages to the pot along with the parsley; season with salt and pepper. Top each serving of soup with the cheese.

SMOKED SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soak beans in cold water to cover, overnight (8 to12 hours). Drain beans and rinse well.
• In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and saute for 5 to 6 minutes, or until browned. Remove the sausage from the skillet and reserve. Add the onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, an additional minute.
• Add the browned sausage back to the stockpot. Stir in the beans, bay leaves, and thyme. Add the chicken stock, water, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Skim off any fat, as necessary, if desired. (The cook time may vary depending on the beans, but they should be tender and falling apart when finished.)
• Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, if needed. Using a potato masher or the flat side of a spoon, gently mash the beans against the bottom and sides of the stockpot, leaving some of the beans whole and some mashed. Continue to simmer the soup for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until desired consistency.
• Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve hot, with crusty bread slices.

BASIC HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes.
• After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard and bay leaves in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.
• Remove ham bone and discard. Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.