Best Smoked Ham And White Bean Soup Recipes

HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven (you can also use a thick-bottomed soup pot, but may need to stir more often to prevent burning) over medium heat for about 3 minutes or so, until it's nice and hot. Add the oil and the onions. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in the chopped celery and carrots, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Add the beans, followed by the water. Increase the heat to high.
• Add the bay leaves, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, black pepper, paprika, and chicken bouillon paste. (If you don't have chicken bouillon paste, simply use chicken stock in place of the water.) Bring to a boil.
• Stir in the ham. I like to cut it into big shards/shreds for extra texture. (Sarah likes hers cubed and orderly though. I won't judge either way!) If you're using a ham hock instead of ham, you can add it in now.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup is at a somewhat energetic simmer--it should always be at a low bubble. Cook for 4-5 hours, stirring periodically. If the soup isn't cooking down, you may want to increase the heat to medium. Every stove is different, so don't just set it and forget it. Periodically check liquid levels.
• In the last hour of cooking, add the fresh parsley, and cook for another hour. It's done when the beans and carrots are tender, and the soup is thickened. If you used a ham hock, fish out any bones, and chop up any large pieces of meat and skin (keeping the skin is optional) that don't break down during the cooking process before serving.
• This soup is quite forgiving. If it ends up too salty for your tastes, just add water, and lightly mash some of the beans to release their starchiness and re-thicken the soup. If you are reheating the soup and there is not enough liquid, just add 1-2 cups of water to bring it back to your desired consistency.

HAM AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the dry beans: Fill a pot large enough to hold the beans with water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the beans and soak for about 2 hours. Drain the water.
• Simmer the ham: While the beans are soaking in step 1, put the ham shanks or ham hocks in a separate large pot and cover them with 2 quarts of water. Add the herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning. Warm on high heat until the water comes to a simmer, then lower the heat, partially cover and maintain the simmer for about an hour.
• Sauté the onions: Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more.
• Add vegetables and beans to the ham broth: Once the ham hocks or shanks have been simmering for an hour, add the drained soaked beans from step 1, the cooked onions and garlic, and the chopped celery and carrots.
• Simmer the soup: Cook for another 40 minutes or so, uncovered, until the vegetables are soft and the ham meat easily pulls away from the bone. Remove the ham bones from the soup and pull off any meat and return it to the soup. Discard the bones.
• Season to taste: Add several drops of Tabasco to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a pinch of chopped fresh parsley.

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH SMOKED HAM SHANK

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or any heavy pot with a lid.
• Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until translucent.
• Add the ham shanks, broth, water, and bay leaves to the pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• Uncover the pot and add the beans, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
• Cover pot, bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. More liquid can be added at any time if the beans soak up all the existing liquid as they cook.
• Uncover the pot, taste, and add salt if needed. (The ham might have been salty enough.)
• Add the tomatoes, cover, and simmer for another 45 minutes, or until the beans are tender and creamy (time will vary depending on the kind of beans you use).
• Remove the ham shank to a cutting board and slice off chunks of meat from the bone.
• Spoon the soup into a large serving bowl or individual bowls. Top with the ham pieces and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

WHITE BEAN AND HAM BONE SOUP

Steps:

• Combine ham bone and 4 quarts of water in a large stock pot of Dutch oven at least the night before. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 hours.
• In the meantime, place beans in a large pot with water to cover; soak overnight. Drain beans the next day and return to the pot.
• Remove ham bone from the pot and pick off any edible meat. Strain the stock and measure out 3 quarts for the soup. Remaining stock can be frozen.
• Pour 3 quarts of stock over the soaked beans. Add ham, celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, tilting the lid to allow steam to escape, and simmer until beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add sherry in the last 30 minutes of cooking and season with salt and pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

SMOKY WHITE BEANS & HAM

Steps:

• Rinse and sort beans; soak according to package directions., Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. Transfer beans to a 6-qt. slow cooker. Add ham hocks. Stir in onion, broth, water and seasonings. Cook, covered, on low 6-8 hours or until beans are tender., Remove meat from bones when cool enough to handle; cut ham into small pieces and return to slow cooker. Serve with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with onions if desired.

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.