♥ Thanksgiving Southern Green Beans And Ham

I made my Mom's country green beans and ham this Thanksgiving as my table just wouldn't be complete without them.

When I was little I can remember my Mom taking me out to the garden to pick fresh green beans. I thought it was so much fun carrying my little basket and walking behind her and watching her every move. Then we would sit out of the back porch and with two big bowls in our laps, we would snap them and I just loved that sound. What she created for supper that night with those green beans has never left my memory. She used to say, "we gonna have a big ol' mess of beans and cornbread tonight. What a supper!

Southern Green Beans And Ham

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced or chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 or 4 ham hocks, ham end pieces or ham shanks
2 to 3 pounds of fresh green beans, cleaned and snapped
3 cans chicken broth
3-4 cans of water (I use broth cans to measure)
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Place ham hocks or shanks in water enough to cover & let simmer a good 2 hours. Remove and set aside to cool. Reserve broth. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into chunks. If using ham end pieces like I did in the photo, set aside to use for later.

In a large heavy stock pot, melt butter on medium high. Add onions and garlic and ham. Cook until onions and garlic are tender and meat has browned just a little.

Turn down the heat to medium and add green beans, chicken broth and 3 cans of the broth from the cooked ham hocks. You want to just cover the beans with the liquid. If you need a bit more water, add it. Cover and cook beans for about an hour. Add, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well. Remove lid for the last 10 minutes of cook time. Check and re-season if necessary.

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