White Bean Ham Hock (Print)

A comforting winter meal with tender white beans, smoky ham hock, vegetables, and savory herbs.

# Components:

→ Meats

01 - 1 large smoked ham hock (approximately 1 to 1.5 pounds)

→ Beans

02 - 1 pound dried great northern or cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained

→ Vegetables

03 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
04 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Herbs & Seasonings

07 - 2 bay leaves
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 - 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
11 - Salt to taste

→ Liquids

12 - 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water

→ Finishing

13 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish

# Directions:

01 - In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, combine the soaked and drained beans, ham hock, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
02 - Pour in the chicken broth and stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
03 - Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
04 - Remove the ham hock from the pot. Let it cool slightly, then shred the meat, discarding skin and bone. Return the shredded meat to the pot.
05 - Continue simmering uncovered for 30 minutes until the beans are tender and the soup has thickened slightly. Add more broth or water if needed.
06 - Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed, keeping in mind the ham hock contributes saltiness.
07 - Remove bay leaves. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The ham hock does all the heavy lifting, flavoring the entire pot so you don't need complicated seasonings.
  • It's the kind of soup that tastes even better the next day, when the flavors have had time to get to know each other.
  • One pot, minimal prep, and you've got six servings of something that feels like a home-cooked hug.
02 -
  • Don't skip soaking the beans overnight—this is the single best way to ensure they cook evenly and actually become tender rather than falling apart on one end and staying hard on the other.
  • Taste the broth before adding salt, because that ham hock is more generous with its salt than you might expect, and over-salting a pot of soup is a hard mistake to unmake.
03 -
  • Choose a ham hock with some visible meat on it rather than one that's mostly bone—you want enough shredded meat to add texture and substance to the finished soup.
  • If you're in a hurry and forget to soak the beans, you can quick-soak them by bringing them to a boil, letting them sit for an hour, then draining and using them, but the overnight method produces more reliable results.
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