Raised on her family’s farm in Mississippi and classically trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, Chef Jennifer Hill Booker puts an authentic, interesting twist on even the most humble pot of beans. And the recipes featured here from her cookbook Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent are a testament to her skill and ingenuity. Combining what at first glance might seem like two disparate types of cuisine — Southern and French — she has found a way to celebrate their similarities, by incorporating nose-to-tail cooking and using every part of the pig. Featuring such richness-producing cuts as hog jowls, ham bones, salt pork, and ham hocks, these savory recipes don’t let anything go to waste and are loaded with flavor. And with the addition of garlic, onion and dried red chili peppers, they create welcoming meals for family suppers and friendly get-togethers alike.

Butter Beans & Hog Jowls

Chef Booker notes that her delicious Butter Beans & Hog Jowls dish gets its richness from the bacon-like flavor but firmer texture of hog jowl. From the cheek area of the hog, hog jowl can be used fresh, cured or smoked and remains firm during long cook times. As she explains the Southern-French connection, “Beans and greens are a huge staple in Southern cuisine and cooked in much the same way here as they are in French cuisine. Whether the beans you use are fresh, frozen or dried, they are cooked the same way — by adding a liquid, a cured or smoked piece of meat for flavoring, and seasoning.” With Butter Beans & Hog Jowls, the broth becomes thicker the longer you simmer the beans, and the dish is even more heavenly when served with cornbread.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

Great Northern Beans & Ham is another of Booker’s favorites, and its wonderful flavor comes from the use of both a ham bone and diced ham. The marrow hidden inside a ham bone adds amazing richness to the dish and melts into silky goodness when slow-simmered. And the diced ham is a meaty addition that makes the meal hearty and comforting in every way. Serve with melty grilled cheese on sourdough for an irresistible combination.

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks is a dish that’s savory and satisfying, and the ham hock imparts marrow-rich flavor that enhances the beans. Chef Booker explains, “The longer you cook your pinto beans, the thicker the sauce or “gravy” will become. I find it best to cook them a day or two before you plan to serve them, and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat and serve. This guarantees a thick, rich pot of beans.” For a little color and freshness, garnish with chopped spring onions, or top with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped red onion and bits of bacon for even smokier flavor.

Field Peas & Snap Beans

Made with salt pork, Field Peas & Snap Beans epitomizes both down home goodness and Booker’s childhood experience. Like bacon, salt pork is made from pork bellies and adds great meaty flavor and luxurious fat — slowly rendering down as the peas cook. As for the addition of snap beans, Chef Booker notes: “It doesn’t matter if you start with fresh, frozen or dried field peas, they always turn a muddy color when they’re cooked. It made me realize that my grandmother always added snap beans (or string beans) to her pot of peas to provide a bright spot of color.” To round out the meal and feed a hungry crowd, try serving alongside a slew of toasted ham and cheese sliders.

For more recipes from Chef Booker, check out Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent. You’ll find more savory Southern dishes like Tomato and Okra Gravy, Glazed Turnips with Pearl Onions and Brown Butter, Fresh Pork Sausage, Hickory-Smoked Chicken Croquettes and Venison Stew.

From Sunday Celebration to Monday Meal

Once upon a time — not so every long ago, actually — families feasted on Sundays and whole hams were a weekly thing. After morning church services, tradition held that folks would gather at Gramma’s house for a proper dinner after the preacher cut the flock loose. In many houses, it was an excuse to loosen the church clothes just a bit and spend the afternoon with extended family and as often as not, the traditional centerpiece was a whole ham sliced and served on the good china.

This regional ritual took place all across the southern US, and for food lovers of south Louisiana, it also provided the makings of a different tradition — a  pot of red beans slow-cooked with a meaty hambone. Cooked on a banked fire or a low burner, ham-spiked red beans became a Monday staple in New Orleans home kitchens and restaurant dining rooms.

Fast forward to modern times, and things have changed. Americans have shifted from family gatherings to late brunches and toaster pastries. Big Sunday suppers are a lot less common, ham comes pre-sliced from the deli counter and there’s nary a proper hambone to be found.

But rest easy friends: you can recapture the traditional magic of gramma’s pork-rich red beans if you know a couple of simple tricks. But first: a little kitchen context.

Hambone Magic

In much of the South, the whole ham represented the very essence of special occasion foods. Whether for a homecoming feast or Easter celebration, it was an at-table event that represents plenty and fellowship. But the Monday magic of the Sunday ham is at the core of the matter. Specifically the BONE at the core of said magically-cured menu item.

From a cook’s standpoint, the “leftovers” from Sunday’s feast contain culinary riches that many modern folks would discard. In addition to the little flecks of meat left behind, the hambone (the sizable shank bone from a hog’s hind leg) is filled with flavor from unexpected sources. The marrow hidden inside the shank adds amazing richness to soups and stews. Layers of tough connective tissue can dull a carving knife,  but melt into silky collagen when slow-simmered for a few hours. And of course, residual fat in the crevices adds its own distinctive flavor.

And not surprisingly, these qualities are EXACTLY what you want in a pot of Monday red beans and rice. The key to unlocking these culinary riches, not surprisingly, is time and patience — not exactly hallmarks of Our Modern Times.

Luckily, there’s are modern-day workarounds at your disposal for this act of delicious recycling.

Spiral Cuts and Slow Cookers

First: Procuring the Bone
While we might not go to Gramma’s house every week, we do live in a world where the pre-packaged “spiral-sliced boneless ham” is readily available. In fact, this kind of party-ready cut is SO popular that there are whole strip mall shops dedicated to this simple product (Honeybaked Hams and Heavenly Hams for example) and sandwiches made with same.

This convenient trend is absolute gold for the canny home cook, because when businesses sell boneless hams, they’ve usually got extra hambones in the freezer, which they usually sell for a few bucks a pound. And as an added bonus, these hambones tend to have plenty of meat on them, as the ham technicians set cutter blades wide so not to dull them on the shank bone. It’s like the meaty core of Gramma’s ham, yours for a pittance.

Second: Cooking Low and Slow
If you’re a crock-pot aficionado, you’re way ahead on this one. The classic “set it and forget it” move so popular with slow cooker folk will extract all the goodness from a hambone, whether you’re making an simple overnight ham stock or starting a pot of red beans while you wait for your morning coffee to brew.

When they’re done, you’ll have all the porky, beany goodness (church clothes optional).

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice – How to Prepare and Save Time

Our Favorite Recipes For Leftover Holiday Ham

You can add chopped ham or a ham bone to almost any bean recipe – substituting for a ham hock if you like less intense flavor – but here are a few we think you’ll enjoy:

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks

Dried red chili peppers, lots of garlic and a smoky ham hock add all the right flavors to creamy pinto beans.

Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Ham Hock and Sausage

Monday’s red beans start the week off right when cooked with a meaty ham hock.

Easy Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice

Here’s another red bean favorite that calls for a smoked ham hock or a 1/2 pound of chopped ham. No soaking and no hands-on attention required!

Slow Cooker Baby Limas with Ham

Baby limas cook up tender and sweet and pair nicely with the saltiness of chopped ham.

Slow Cooker Lima Beans and Ham

This one couldn’t be easier – and using a slow cooker makes the lima beans especially creamy.

Senate Bean Soup

Senate Bean Soup is served in the dining room of the United States Senate every day, in a tradition that dates to the early 20th century.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

Great Northern Beans & Ham is a favorite from Chef Jennifer Hill Booker, and its wonderful flavor comes from the use of both a ham bone and diced ham.

Southern Blackeye Peas

Our classic Southern Blackeye Peas recipe gets its great taste by starting with a savory base of diced ham and chopped bacon.

Sawyer’s Yellow Split Pea Soup

Split peas and ham is a delicious combination, found in cuisines all over the world.