Saveur Stewed Green Beans

Before moving to West Virginia I had never eaten southern style green beans. The beans my mom made growing up were french style green beans, not the runner style beans popular around here. The first year my mother-in-law gave me a bunch to cook I was unaware that I needed to take the strings off of the green beans, and as imagined they were a disaster. The following year my mother-in-law was kind enough to show me how to make green beans using oil, onions, a ham hock and a lot of time on the stove. That is the way I have been making them ever since, however, every cook book and food magazine I have read talks about southern style green beans using a smoked turkey leg. When I opened up a recent issue of Saveur magazine and saw a recipe for Stewed Green Beans using a smoked turkey leg, I decided to try the recipe to see how it compared to the West Virginia style green beans I always make.

This recipe has 6 ingredients and takes approximately an hour to cook. The prep time will very depending on how long it takes you to string green beans. I normally string all my green beans at once while watching TV, since it's not the most exciting kitchen prep work. My two boys 'helped' me string the pound of green beans for this recipe plus an additional pound to freeze, which took approximately an hour total. I used bacon fat, instead of unsalted butter. I keep a cup of bacon fat in my fridge to use for cooking, my husband prefers the taste in cornbread and green beans. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These green beans turned out delicious. I preferred the taste of the smoked turkey leg to the use of the ham hock. The rest of my family just loves green beans in general so ate them happily, as they would have if I had used a ham hock. A great easy way to use fresh runner beans when in season.

For the recipe go to Stewed Green Beans.