fresh green beans ~ west virginia style

How To Make fresh green beans ~ west virginia style

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  1

  Check out these beauties! Grab a "mess" of fresh green beans from the garden or support your local farmstand or farmer's market to find them.
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  2

  Snap off the ends & pull out any strings on both sides. I also snap the beans into a fairly uniform size.
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  3

  Wash them carefully, looking for any bad spots to trim out. Put the green beans into a sauce pan or dutch oven, depending on how many beans you're cooking. I usually use the dutch oven since I seldom cook less than a pound of green beans and often more.
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  Add water to cover the beans.
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  5

  Add the meat. One ham hock (Mom's preference) will cook up to about 2 or so pounds of green beans. Anything else is just the cook's preference as to amount.
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  6

  Mom always added about a tablespoon of sugar to a pot of beans. For the smaller amount of beans I cooked in this demo, I used about 1/2 of the amount on the tablespoon.
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  7

  Cover & cook over MEDIUM-LOW heat for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes (setting the timer so I won't forget) and checking on the water level. If it's boiling away too quickly, turn down the stove. Keep the beans covered with water for the first 2 hours of cooking. When the beans are fork tender and start to fall apart a bit, remove the lid and allow the water to cook down for another 30 to 60 minutes, stirring more often & watching closely.
• 8

  I usually don't need to add additional salt since the meat is salty, but taste before serving to decide. OK, stop eating those green beans and save some for supper! =^..^=
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