Butter beans with color...
... that's the way I define speckled butter beans, I mean, with a color other than green. Now the taste is a lot different than the green variety, or at least I think so. The mottled brown legumes are a bit more earthy yet still brings about a creamy texture if cooked right.
We like these pole lima beans not only 'cause there darn right good, but they do well in our hot, humid southern climate. Long vines stretching upwards on strings or stick poles, these bean plants produce hardy, large pods filled with a flavor not found in many parts of the states. Now if you ever see frozen speckled butter beans, by all means buy a bag and get to cooking. That is something I do during the winter months. Like many beans, these do well by cooking long and slow on the stove-top adding water as it cooks down. The best thing about cooking these types of foods is the 'pot-likker' that you get and if cooked right, will be a seasoned, saucy almost gravy for cornbread mopping. Enjoy!
Speckled Butter Beans
1 pound shelled fresh speckled butter beans (about 3 cups), or butter beans, butter peas or limas (frozen will do too)
2 cups of chicken stock
1 ham hock, or 2 pieces of salt pork or bacon cooked
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small bay leaf
1 garlic pod
Salt and pepper to taste
couple pats of butter
Place the ham hock or other smoked meat into a medium saucepan along with the chicken stock, onion, bay leaf and garlic pod. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium low. Simmer for about 10 minutes and add the beans. Make sure the beans are covered with about an inch of liquid, if not, add more stock or water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook slowly until the bean is creamy on the inside but not falling apart, about an hour or so. I like to turn off the heat and let the beans rest in the hot liquid for a while as I go about finishing up other supper dishes. Add butter, stir and reheat the beans prior to serving.
SEE ALSO: cooking southern varieties of field peas, creamy, sweet and buttery Lady Peas, and another favorite, black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John.
20 comments:
Drick,
Yot got it going on good here with this ole Southern favorite, love me some beans. Butter, lima, pole, red kidney, I tell you what...these butter beans look like some great eating!
Wish I could just grab me a bowl right about now!
Bon appetit!
CCR
=:~)
darn right good is right!
Yum... yum!
love some beans right now these ingredients sounds wonderful!
I don't think I have seen these types of beans. It looks delicious and healthy....simple for me to cook, too :D Drick, hope you are almost done with your house. Maybe a good coffee will do you good....smile :D
i love beans in any fashion and even better when there is cornbread mopping involved...yum
sweetlife
Well that's a good ole southern side...looks delicious. I've been keeping up through Goggle reader but can't always get online later in the evening....love your posts :-)
You are so right. Beans cooked low and slow are creamy and packed with flavor. I've used butter beans before. I can make this dish my entire meal.
It's funny, if you call them limas, I don't like them, but butter beans? I love them. It's all in the name. Yours are perfect.
These do look 'darn right good', I would love to have a bowl of these right now;)
Love this recipe and I so love theses beans...all over it with corn bread and some melted butter :)
I tip my hat to you.You do know how to make those beans shine. Ready for lunch...
These are a favorite around my house...thanks for sharing! Blessings, K
Beans aren't my good friends. Wish I could have some!
I have been lucky enough to get fresh speckled butter beans the farmers market for the first time this year, and I am totally addicted to them!! Froze some for later ... they are seriously one of my new favorite things. I love your Southern recipe for them, mmmm.
Speckled butter beans are a great southern dish, that and some cracklin cornbread and I am good to go! Great post!
Look delicious, especially at this time of the year. Thanks for sharing :)
I was raised on fresh speckled butter but now use frozen or dried but have a real problem getting them cooked soft enough to eat. I cover them in water..bring to boil and cut down to low. It takes about 4 hours to cook and sometime I end up having to put in pressure cooker. This started about 2 years ago and before that it took about an hour. What can I do or what am I doing wrong?
@Harolyn Callaham - I am not sure I can answer this one, if you are doing the same thing as you did 2 years ago when things did cook correctly, then something else must have changed.... for dried beans, I have much luck using the crock pot over-nite method (see http://bit.ly/hlwZBU) and for fresh ones, simmering on low will normally bring them to soft stage within an hour... acid will certainly alter timing, like adding tomato will cause beans to almost never become tender... maybe another metallic or chemical reaction is happening that you have not thought about... thinking back, whenever this has happened to me, it is because of things like boiling too fast, not enough liquid, simple things that can easily be corrected, but if you are doing what you say, I just don't know... maybe someone else can help - and it would be good if you turned on your blogger status for contacting purposes
Can you please tell me whereabouts in Melbourne I would be able to purchase frozen butter beans.
Regards
Tony B.
@Anonymous - I sure wish I could but I don't know a lick about butterbeans in Melbourne... maybe my good friend at Jeroxie blog could as she is living there....
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