Does anyone do the long, slow cooking thing with green beans?

[wryter2000]

Some of my fortex beans got away from me and are thicker than I'd normally like them. I'm thinking that slow cooking with bacon thing would be good for them.

[ernstbass]

1. I do

I'm from the South and I like my beans like my Grandma made them - cooked til they are very soft (my chef brother says this is criminal). I used a ham hock w/ them last week - you can even do them in the crock pot (country ham, bacon, or onion soup mix are alos good to use)

[wryter2000]

2. Thanks

I do have a crock pot around somewhere.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I agree with your brother!

But I have also cooked professionally in the south (Durham, NC, to be exact) and they loved green beans cooked to death and flavored with bacon grease.

[anitar1]

4. Yes Sir ! Love My slow cooked beans. It is hard to change

Southern tastes. My Mother and other women in the family cooked that way and some of it has stuck. But I like green beans the other way too. Also love blackeyed peas cooked that way. So many good things.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

12. Blackeyed peas?

Oh, say more, please.

[bearfan454]

5. Mrs bearfan's Mom makes green beans with bacon grease.

MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !

[wryter2000]

6. Any recipes?

I'm a hopeless Yankee and don't know how to make them.

[bearfan454]

7. She boils them until soft with a ham hock for flavor

Sometimes she boils potatoes too and they just have green beans and potatoes.

She boils the green beans until soft and then pours leftover bacon grease over them at the last minute. Really good.

[wryter2000]

9. Thanks

I think I'll get out the crockpot today.

[mandyky]

10. We used to do 2 variations of this with fresh beans or peas

and new potatoes, boil the potatoes and beans or peas, drain off the water, cover with milk until simmering, add butter, salt and pepper.

Serve with your choice of bread or as a side dish for chicken, meatloaf, or whatever.

[mike_c]

13. me too-- I'm a georgia boy transplanted to the left coast...

...and I cook green beans in bacon fat and a little stock until they're limp and sweet. Oh my that's good. If timed right, the stock is almost dry when the beans are ready to eat. I like crisp steamed french green beans too, but NOTHING beats green beans southern style, like my grandmother taught me to cook!

[catmandu57]

8. Supper

I tried to find garden fresh green beans this morning, even went so far as to ask the farmer with the b/c sticker on his truck who was selling on the town square.
No luck, so I opened a couple of cans, they've been on simmer all day, and I'll go finish them in a little bit.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. Is this the thing

where you put them in a skillet with bacon grease and then slow-cook them for 2 or 3 hours?

I was just daydreaming about them yesterday, trying to remember exactly how they were made. I was floored when I saw your post.

[mike_c]

14. usually only takes about 30 minutes or so....

Chop a slice of bacon and fry the pieces in a pot. When the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, add some chicken stock (I freeze my stock in ice cube trays, and add a few cubes, probably about a cup of liquid). Add the green beans to the boiling stock and cover. Season with some salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Check frequently near the end-- the beans should be limp, but don't let them burn. Add more liquid if necessary. If the stock is not dry by the end of the cooking period, take the lid off and increase the heat to dry the liquid. Oh my that's good!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

15. Oh, yummy

Thank you so much. The ones I remember cooked longer, but I'm gonna try yours.

This reminds me of a dry-cooked string bean recipe I learned from our Chinese cook. You just stir fry the beans in very hot peanut oil until they're all wrinkled and starting to darken, then you throw in a handful of minced garlic and ginger, some chili/bean paste, and a dash of soy sauce and white wine. Oh, those are good, too!

[wryter2000]

16. Yum, you guys

What a surprise to find one of my old threads reincarnated. Some great ideas in here. I'm still getting beans, too.

[yellowdogintexas]

17. It is The Way of true Green Bean Nirvana

add some nice simmered squash, some corn on the cob, mac/cheese,sliced tomatoes and some cucumbers marinated in vinegar,corn bread and sweet iced tea.

Southern Vegetable Dinner Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wryter2000]

18. Thanks

That's an interesting combination. What kind of squash?

[yellowdogintexas]

19. yellow crookneck, picked young, cooked with onion and garlic

and a little butter, salt and pepper.

All of the vegetables of course must be freshly harvested from the garden to meet the standards of a Southern Country Garden Meal.

We ate this meal frequently in high garden season in Kentucky, when I was growing up. Yellow squash, good green beans, sweet corn, tomatoes and cucumbers would all be abundantly available.

A big ole plate full of vegetables, corn bread, sweet tea

usually there would be a good pie or cobbler for dessert.

[anitar1]

20. I still have those meals in the summer. Meat is not missed with

all of the wonderful fresh vegetables available. Surprised to see this thread back. Good one.

[wryter2000]

22. Me, too

yellowdogintexas revived the thread. I was surprised to see it myself. Now, it's making me nostalgic for the garden.

The tomatoes and peppers are still producing (although not much), but the beans and squash stopped a while ago.

[wryter2000]

21. Oh my goodness

I'll have to do that next year when the garden is in full swing. Thanks! :bounce: