Kentucky Pole Beans and Potatoes

Submitted by happy2bme_9_8206787

"From the cookbook, "The Glory of Southern Cooking" by James Villas. This is pretty much exactly how my grandma made beans straight from the garden."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh green beans (do not use haricot vert)
• 1 ham hock (see note below)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 12 small red potatoes

directions

1. Note: The recipe called for a 1-inch chunk of streak-o-lean (lean salt pork), but the website doesn't recognize. You can use streak-o-lean if you can find it, ham hock, pork belly, or bacon.
2. Pinch off the ends of the beans, and if necessary, remove any strings. Snap the beans into 1-1/2 inch pieces, rinse well in a colander and transfer to a large pot.
3. Add the cooking meat, salt and pepper and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer the beans slowly until tender but still slightly firm, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, rinse the potatoes to remove any grit, cut away a strip of peel around the center of each with a vegetable peeler.
5. Add the potatoes to the beans, stir and continue to simmer until tender, about 30 minutes, adding more water if needed.
6. Drain and serve hot in a large bowl.