The Humble Pinto - Ham Hocks and Pintos

Hubby made an awesome meal tonight. He's made this dish before and what I remember from the last time he made it was just how succulent the ham hocks were. I forgot the pinto, although it's hard to imagine how.  This under-estimated, under-valued supporting actress, if ever there was one, clearly shines and deserves an Oscar for her "role" in this dish.

We Northern folk forget about the pinto. Yet, it's one of the cheapest ways to stretch a budget you can imagine.  Southerners have been doing it for years.  So, it's little wonder really that my heart sorta skipped a beat when hubby made it for me tonight. I was totally in the mood for some home-cooking, some soul soothing, comfort food. Pintos are as Southern as Grits. Maybe more so. For me, it was familiar like the smells of Mamaw's kitchen; comfort food at its finest.

Let's take a look at how he put it all together:

• 2 cups of beans
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves
• 2 large smoked ham hocks
• 3 quarts of water, bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat.
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 can of American beer
   (something in the Miller/Bud category)

Simmer beans, water, garlic and ham hocks for 2 1/2 hours in a large, enameled pot over medium to low heat.  Bring to a boil, cover, then turn down the heat to medium low so that it simmers gently, but doesn't boil over.  You shouldn't need to, but add more water during cooking, if beans absorb all of the water before the cooking time is up. If that happens, definitely turn down the heat a notch as you want to keep a good deal of this bean "liquor", which gives them such a creamy taste.

Salt! (He had an exclamation in there, I swear!) We had a discussion about salt and Hubby was adamant enough on this point that I just accepted it, although every instinct felt like this might be a mistake.  I was totally wrong and glad I kept my mouth shut.  The seasoning was absolutely perfect when dinner was served.  He continues to exclaim: Salt comes later! Never add salt to beans until they are completely cooked!  This will make your beans tough! (Who knew? but these beans were so perfect, it HAS to be true! I mean, there is salt in the hockies, after all, right?)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F ( 220 degrees C). Place the cooked beans and hocks, uncovered, directly into the oven to bake further for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and NOW, the salting can begin.

Salt: Tonight, he added 1 teaspoon of salt per cup of beans (2 tsp total) to a can of beer and then, he poured this salty beer concoction over the ham hocks and then baked it for another half hour, which creates the crunchy, caramelized, perfectly seasoned crust for the ham hocks. The texture of the hocks is just unbeatable. The ham hocks were fall off the bone tender, yet chewy and deeply satisfying.

But just you wait until you get to the scene about the Pintos...  A perfect pinto bean is well, tricky. I have had the traditional Mexican pinto which resembles nothing of the sad, pasty Taco Bell or even El Paso canned pinto bean you may have tried before.  The beans were creamy yet firm in texture and had fantastic flavor.  No bland, pasty bean up in this joint!  This, I assure you, will be a "Whoa, Nelly!" moment.

When you realize just how easy it is to make a good Pinto recipe, it may stop you dead in your tracks and you may never go back to a pinto that lacks texture, succulence and downright goodness again. Let's face it, the ham hocks always lend flavor to the party so its hard to go wrong with this one. However, if you have time some weekend or weeknight for this Slow Cooking recipe, you won't be disappointed.