Pinto Beans, Ham Hocks, and Rice

Submitted by JanetB-KY

"I got this one from Southern Living Magazine and tweaked it some as it was kind of bland to begin with. Needless to say, once I got a hold of it, with my love of spice, it was no longer bland. If you want just mild spice though, just omit all spice but the salt, pepper and onions and green peppers and up the salt to taste as I lowered it to take into account the saltiness of the Cajun Seasoning."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 lb dried pinto bean
• 1 1⁄2 lbs smoked ham hocks (2)
• 2 quarts water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 6 green onions, chopped, white and green parts
• 2 cups chopped ham (optional)

directions

1. Sort and wash beans; place them in a large pot, add water to cover them and let soak about 8 hours; drain, rinse and then put back into pot with 2 quarts water.
2. Bring beans, ham hocks and all the spices to a boil in the same pot as before; cover, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally about 2 and a half hours or until beans are tender.
3. Stir in rice, onions, green pepper, brown sugar, rice and ham if using; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until rice is tender; remove ham hocks, chop off meat and add back to pot.
4. Serve with more green onions, some extra hot sauce if that's your thing, and a big pan of cornbread and you have a wonderful country style meal.

Reviews

[Qmeg5858]

Absolutely delicious. I was too lazy to cook it on the stove, so i changed the white rice to brown and dumped everything into the crock pot. I cooked it on high for about 4.5 hours, and low for one. Incredibly flavorful and plenty of leftovers. Hope that it freezes well - guess i'll find out!

 

[Elaine T.]

This was amazing, I didn't have an onion (I know) so I put in onion powder. I had a ham hock from a honey baked ham, so I didn't add the brown sugar. I put the rice on the side. The family LOVED this. My husband went on and on. My daughter turned her nose up when I told her what we were having. When she tried it, she had seconds. Definitely will make it again. You should give it a try.

 

[Davids Nora]

My husband immediately called a friend a bragged/invited him over for some! & declared this is what he's having for dinner too! (I had run out of eggs, and so just wrapped servings up in warm tortillas. I had the canned beans and cooked the rice separate.) When your husband brags about your cookin'--that's the ultimate compliment! Thank you!

 

[LiisaN]

Good flavor and easy to put together. I was worried that there would be too much liquid - but after adding the rice - most of it absorbed. I added chicken bouillion base to the water for some depth in flavor - it probably didn't need that addition. Thanks.

 

[Acerast]

Economical and Delicious! This has a nice combination of spices (although next time I'll make my own cajun seasoning because the commercial brand was a bit salty when combined with the ham hocks). Thanks JanetC-KY for a great dish that I'll make again.