Southern Style Lima Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Sift through the beans for “Foreign Bodies” and rinse.
• In a stock pot, cover the beans with 2 inches of water and soak for 4-5 hours.
• Chop the baked ham rind to about 1/4 inch squares.
• If you use bacon, cook it off about three quarters of the way to render out some of the fat and drain well before chopping.
• (Reserve the fat for the roux later, at your option!) Drain the soaking water, add the meat to the beans and cover with water by about 2 inches.
• Bring the beans to a slow boil, add the Liquid Smoke, salt and pepper, cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer until tender.
• (From 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the beans and the heat so check them often.) When the beans are nearly tender, in a small sauce pan, mix the flour and oil (you can use the leftover bacon fat) and heat, mixing until bubbling.
• Because of the variable of how much water is left in the beans, I’ve found it’s better to thicken the sauce backwards.
• Start spooning bean water into the roux to thicken it to a paste (like thin mashed potatoes) then adding the paste back into the beans a tablespoon at a time, and stirring to the desired thickness.
• Keep in mind it won’t fully thicken until it comes to a boil and it may take a few tries to get it how you want it.
• Serve in a large bowl topped with the chopped Pecans.
• Any leftovers will freeze.

Steps:

• Simmer beans in one to two quarts of water for 30 minutes, either in the crockpot on "high" heat or in another pot over the stove. The beans will have swelled and softened slightly.
• Drain and put them into the crockpot.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Cook four to eight hours on "auto-shift" or "low" heat.
• At some point, remove the ham hocks and separate the bones and fat from the bits of meat, cutting up the meat to return to crockpot.
• When done, this dish should resemble a stew with a thick broth. The beans should be soft, but not quite falling apart. If you cook it too long, it will be tasty but will resemble split pea soup.
• Serve with biscuits or cornbread.