Monday’s Bread Bowl: Ham Hocks w/ Beans

Slow cooked comfort food

The Mixed Stew crew loves this meal for its simplicity and heartiness. The combination of smoked ham hocks with pinto beans is an all-American classic. We tweaked this Paula Dean’s recipe and made it our own. Here’s our rendition:


What you will need:

1 wooden spoon
1 pound dry pinto or roman beans
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound smoked ham hocks
1 pound coarse ground beef
5 cups water
1 onion, chopped
5 large cloves of garlic
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp kim chee sauce
1 fry pan to saute beef
1 large crockpot
2 large bowls to soak beans and hocks

Pre-prep: Follow directions on package to soak beans. Soak ham hocks in 5 cups water for at least two hours. You will reserve the liquid to use in crockpot.

Cooking and Directions:

When beans have soaked per instructions, you can prepare the meat. Heat up olive oil in pan. When oil is hot, add garlic cloves and a few pieces of onion to flavor. Then add coarse ground beef and brown in pan. Add dash of salt and black pepper. Once cooked, remove pan from heat.
Prepare ingredients for crockpot: Drain and add beans to pot, season with chili powder and dried oregano. Mix well. Add beef mixture. Toss in remaining onions and garlic. Add ham hocks and cover with liquid that hocks were soaking in. Hocks should be mostly immersed in liquid. Add kim chee sauce and a little more salt and pepper. Not too much because the beef already was seasoned and the hocks are salty too. Set crockpot to slow cook for 8 hours. Enjoy with brown rice!