Southern Butterbeans

Ingredients

3 cups Butterbeans, fresh
4 cups Pork Stock
2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Ham hock meat, minced (optional)
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Half and half

Pork Stock

8 Ham hocks, rinsed well
½ Yellow Onion, sliced
1 Carrot, quartered
2 Celery stalks, halved
1 1 /2 gallon Cold Water

Instructions

Place the butterbeans, stock, salt, and meat in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Simmer 45 minutes on low. Remove lid and stir in butter and Half and Half. Continue cooking until just tender.

Yield: six to eight servings

Pork Stock

Place hocks, onion, carrot, celery, and water in a large stockpot and simmer over low heat 4-5 hours, constantly skimming foam on the surface of the stock. Add more water as needed to yield one gallon of final product.

Strain and place stock in refrigerator overnight. Using a large spoon, remove fat layer from top of chilled stock. Stock should be thick. Stock can be frozen in small batches.

Yield: one gallon

Note: Reserve ham hock meat for soups and other recipes

Recent Recipes

Amalfi Lemon Cake

There's a particular kind of sunshine that only shows up in citrus form, and this Amalfi Lemon Cake has it in spades. Bright, moist, and unapologetically lemony, it walks the line between a proper dessert and something you'd be just as happy eating with your coffee on a Tuesday morning. The glaze soaks into the crumb while the cake's still warm, so every bite carries that little pucker of acidity balanced against real sweetness. It's simple enough for a weeknight and pretty enough for company.

Pecan Crusted Redfish

There's a certain kind of Southern kitchen wisdom that says you can't improve on a fresh Gulf redfish — and for the most part, that's true. But every now and then a dish comes along that doesn't so much improve the fish as it does pay proper respect to it, and this pecan-crusted redfish is one of those. It's a dish that works just as well for a Tuesday supper as it does for a table full of guests you're trying to impress — which, if you ask me, is the mark of a truly great recipe. Serve it simple, with rice or grits and something green on the side, and let the fish do the talking.

Stuffed Pork

Robert St. John's Stuffed Pork is an elegant centerpiece dish that takes a braised pork loin and layers it with Black Forest ham and melted Fontina cheese for a result that's as impressive to look at as it is to eat. The pork is seared, slow-roasted in chicken stock, and then sliced accordion-style so each cut fans open to hold the savory fillings before going back into the oven to meld together. A silky pan sauce made from the reduced braising liquid and heavy cream ties it all together, making this one of those recipes that feels restaurant-worthy without being out of reach.

RobertStJohn.com