Slow-Cooked Green Beans

Let 'em go low and slow

By Robert F. Moss

November 22, 2017

Slow-cooked green beans, before and after
Slow-cooked green beans, before and after
Like most people who learned to cook in the ‘90s, I came of age believing that green beans should have a snap to them, and I dutifully mastered the blanch-and-shock process: boil for just a few minutes, shock them in ice water to preserve their brilliant green color, then reheat them in a little butter so they are warmed through but still have a firm, snappy bite.

But more recently I’ve started lowering the heat and letting them go, especially when I find myself with scraps of leftover country ham or come across a smoked ham hock at the butcher counter. I add lots of onions and garlic to the pot, too. There’s something magical about the way those sharp, strong flavors meld together and transform the crisp, vegetal pods into into something silky, dark, and delicious. I even wrote a defense of slow-cooked green beans for Saveur.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds green beans
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 ham hock (about 8 ounces) or 4 ounces country ham scraps
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. 1Prepare the beans by removing the stems and any strings and snapping them into 2 inch pieces.
  2. 2Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan or flameproof casserole, add the onions, and saute until translucent (approximately 3 minutes)
  3. 3If using a ham hock, score the skin with a sharp knife
  4. 4Add the ham hock or country ham, garlic, and beans to the pot and add enough water to almost cover the beans.
  5. 5Bring the water to a boil over high heat then reduce to a slow simmer
  6. 6After an hour (allowing time for the salt from the ham to permeate the beans), season to taste with salt and pepper
  7. 7Simmer the beans for another 30 minutes to an hour until they are at the desired tenderness. (You can test using Lettice Bryan’s 1839 method: remove one bean from the pot and mash with a fork. The bean should mash easily between the tines.)
  8. 8Adjust seasoning if needed and serve.