90 Min Soup Beans

The First Reader has been asking me to make soup beans for a while now. I'd finally gotten around to finding a smoked ham shank, as cooking a whole ham for three of us, in the apartment was... too much.

I had a snow day, and I cooked all day. Ran the oven for most of it. Bread, then cookies, then cornbread... but the beans were not an all day cook. Soup beans can be a two-day affair, and they are wonderful when done right, and I say this as someone who grew up loathing beans. I've gone two days without eating because the only option was beans. 

These are not those beans. I suspect even a picky eater could be tempted into these velvety, unctuous, savory bowls of comfort food.

To do these fast, you'll need an InstantPot or stovetop pressure cooker. 

• 1 lb dry beans

• 4 c water

• 1 tbsp bacon grease

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 4 c chicken stock (or turkey. What you have on hand)

• 2 c water

• 1 packet French Onion Soup Mix

• Small ham shank, or a ham bone

Bring a pound of beans (I used pinto) and four cups of water to a boil using the saute setting. Lock down the lid, and cook under high pressure for 3 minutes, then do a quick release. Drain the beans and set aside. 

Wipe the InstantPot liner dry with a paper towel if necessary, then put it back in the pot. Set it back to saute, and add a tablespoonful of bacon grease. In this, saute up a diced onion and about a tablespoonful of garlic. When they are translucent, fry the spices for a minute or two, then add the stock, water, soup mix, and stir well.

Add the beans back in, and nestle your ham into them, making sure it's well submerged. Lock down the lid, and set for high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow to natural release for 20 minutes, then fast release. 

Serve with cornbread, and the First Reader loves to add some finely chopped fresh onion as well. Taste before salting - the stock may have added salt, will have if you didn't make it yourself - and season to taste.

If you were to want to do these slow, you'd soak the beans overnight, then drain. Assemble as above, but put into a slow cooker and let cook for 8-10 hours before serving. Or put them into a dutch oven and cook slow on the back of the woodstove all day, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed.