Grandma Terry's Southern Beans

Lil' Miss Nikki's Note:

There's nothing like going to Grandma Terry's a big plate of beans and fried cornbread. A simple and very inexpensive meal.

• Total Time: 6 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb great northern bean
• 3 slices bacon
• 2 -3 quarts water
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Start in the morning.
2. Empty bag of beans into a strainer and clean, removing any bad ones and tossing them away.
3. Pour beans and bacon to a dutch oven or stock pot. Add water til it's about 2 inch or so above the beans.
4. Cook on medium heat, stirring ocationally and adding water as needed, til beans are tender. Around 4-5 hours.
5. Lower heat to low and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue simmering until ready to serve. Soups should thicken as it simmers.
6. Remove bacon before serving.

Reviews

[ladyfingers]

Thanks for teaching us northerners how to make great southern beans. A nice smoky flavor to this easy, yet tasty recipe. Next time I will also follow reviewer breezermom's suggestion to add onion or garlic--saw it too late the first time.

[breezermom]

This is the way our family has always cooked beans....sometimes adding a little onion or garlic, and always served with a big slice of cornbread. In fact, often times we made a whole meal of these beans and the juices with crumbled cornbread thrown in the bowl to soak up the juices. Great recipe for these uncertain economic times. You just can't beat the taste of dried beans slow cooked with bacon! Made for Fall PAC 2009. Thanks for posting!