Old Fashioned Butter Beans & Ham

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried large lima beans, soaked (butter beans)
• 1 ham hock (or ham shank)
• 2 medium onions (1 quatered and 1 finely chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 half fill a large saucepan with water and stir in the beans, ham hock, quartered onion, garlic and bay leaves. bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. drain the beans, reserving all of the liquid and discarding the onion, garlic, and bay leaves. transfer beans to a bowl and the ham hock to a cutting board. cut the meat into small pieces (you should have about 1 cup). discard the bones. in the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. stir in the ham and enough bean liquid to make the beans soupy (about 2 cups); bring to a boil. lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. stir in the beans, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste; heat for 3 minutes or until hot. ladle into bowls (i like to add a couple of drops of catsup) and serve with warm fresh homemade bread and butter.