Traditional Ham with Bean Soup

Step 1

Rinse the beans thoroughly, and place into a pot of boiling water. The beans should be completely submerged. Turn the heat off and cover. Let soak for 1 hour.

Step 2

Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onions are translucent but not brown.

Step 3

Add minced garlic and cook for another couple minutes.

Step 4

Pour in chicken broth and 6 cups of water.

Step 5

Add thyme, mustard, black pepper, seasoned salt, paprika, nutmeg, and bay leaves.

Step 6

Add ham hock and ham bone (with some meat still on it).

Step 7

Bring everything to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook on a low simmer for 1 hour.

Step 8

Strain the beans and then add to the soup pot. Stir, and simmer for an additional 2 hours.

Step 9

Turn off heat and discard ham hocks and bay leaves. Remove ham bone from pot and separate meat. Roughly chop any larger hunks of meat, and then return the ham meat to the pot.

Step 10

Allow the pot to cool enough to safely place the entire pot, covered, in the refrigerator. Leave undisturbed for 12-18 hours. This will cause a lot of fat to rise to the top and solidify. Don't skip this step, or you will have an extremely greasy soup.

Step 11

Using a spoon, skim off the thick layer of fat and discard.

Step 12

Now just heat up the soup on the stove, and serve.