Bean and Bacon Soup

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 20
• Yields: 20 6oz portions

Ingredients

• 1  lb  beans, dried and soaked see note
• 1⁄2 lb bacon, ends and pieces,chopped fine
• 4  medium onions, chopped
• 4  stalks celery, chopped
• 4  large carrots, peel and diced
• 1  lb plum tomato, diced
• 1  gallon  stock or 1  gallon water
• 1  smoked ham hock
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  teaspoon thyme, leaf
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1  lb smoked sausage, sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Preparation Check the beans for stones.
2. Pour boiling water over beans and let stand 1 hour or soak overnight and drain.
3. Finely chop the bacon ends and pieces, or fat saved from a smoked ham, and cook it on a medium fire in a big pot to render the fat.
4. Be sure the crumbs of fat are nicely browned, like crisp bacon.
5. Add the cut up veggies (you can change the amounts to suit yourself, and add others too, ad lib) and saute in the fat.
6. Add a few cloves of mashed garlic if you like it.
7. Drain the beans and rinse them.
8. Add the water or stock, beans and ham hock and herbs and spices.
9. Bring to the boil, simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, maybe even more depending on beans, until they are very tender.
10. Cut the fat and skin from the ham hock and dice it and return to the soup.
11. I often cook a couple of extra ones and have beans and hocks as a meal.
12. Season with salt and pepper.
13. You can skim the fat, but in the cold winter, it tastes good.
14. The colder it is, the better you will like fatty soups.
15. If you cook it long enough, the beans and everything will break down and puree, combining with the fat to make a"creamy" consistency, that is much admired by"beanies.
16. "I like to finish the soup with sliced kielbasa.