Cajun and Creole Gators!Aurora Catering's

White Beans with Spiral Cut Ham and Tasso

Yield - about 3 Gallons (about 50 - 60 dinner servings)

Ingredients
3  LBS DRIED WHITE BEANS (Sometimes called Navy Beans,  see Chef's Notes)
3 GALLONS CHICKEN STOCK (See Chef's Notes below) 
See Chef's Notes below5  LARGE YELLOW ONIONS (Diced)
1-1/2  TBSP RED PEPPER FLAKES

1-1/2  TBSP WHITE PEPPER
4-5 LBS SPIRAL CUT HAM SHANK (See Chef's Notes)
2  LBS TASSO (1/2 inch cubes, See Chef's Notes)
1/4  CUP FRESH MINCED GARLIC (See Recipe)
3  TBSP DRIED THYME LEAVES

2  TBSP DRIED SWEET BASIL LEAVES

8  BAY LEAF 

 

Method
Cut the spiral ham meat from the bone, chop into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a the 20 quart stock pot.  Add about 2-1/2 gallons of stock to the pot.  Retain about 1/2 gallon if needed for later use.   Combine the remaining ingredients in the pot and place under refrigeration,  allow the beans to soften.  (about 30 -45 minutes)

 

Remove from cooler, and place the pot on the stove top, over high heat.  Bring the pot to a boil, stirring occasionally, lower heat to medium/low and continue to simmer for about an hour, or until the beans are tender and start to cream.  Add additional stock occasionally to maintain liquid level, stir often to ensure that beans do not stick to bottom of the pot. DO NOT OVER COOK!

 

Remove from heat and allow beans to rest undisturbed for 30 minutes.  This gives the beans time to finish cooking but not mush. Remove bay leafs.
 

Alternate Method

3 TBSP CHICKEN BASE

3 GALLONS WATER

Store bought chicken stock can be expensive, so a good subsiste can be a chicken base mixed with water.


Plate Presentation
LOT - CHICKEN STOCK RICE (See Recipe) (Placed in a 20 inch bamboo bowl)
3-4 FRESH BUTTERED FRENCH BREADS (Warmed)

Serve Family Style or in a 4 inch hotel pan and chaffer, use 12 oz bowls.

  

Chef's Notes:
OK... OK.. Plenty of Chef's Notes!!  BUT Important!!

 

Note..., White beans are sometimes called Great Northern or Navy (Pea) Beans, they are about the same thing.  Usually, Butterbeans or Limas are NOT used, but can be substituted in a pinch.

 

Spiral Cut Ham Shanks (sometimes called a Picnic Hams) are usually very cheap for the quantity of meat that you get..... AND the bone is the perfect stock/soup bone for the recipe.   I like to purchase these around a holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and even Labor Day and 4th of July.  Many grocery stores will put the ones that they didn't sell before the holiday for near or even under a dollar a pound!!!  BTW, I don't use the sweet brown sugar glaze pack that comes with the ham... I like to save these for cooking with grilled pork chops or other dishes.

 

I also like to use Poche's Meat Market Tasso in this recipe, it is a true/traditional Cajun seasoning.  It is processed and smoked in Breaux Bridge, LA and available for Fed Ex shipment from their market, the phone number is (337) 332-2108..... BTW, the leanness of tasso adds a great flavor without adding much fat.  Their tasso is highly seasoned, and will give the beans a little higher heat "taste" than most other tassos, so for those that don't like much heat seasoning, you may want to slightly lower the peppers called for in the recipe and adjust later in the cooking process.

 

The recipe calls for a LOT of Chicken Stock (and can be VERY expensive if you don't make it yourself), so you might want to substitute chicken base and water.... BUT, be careful if you use chicken bouillon (WAY TOO Much salt for my taste....) SOOOO, use a good quality  This will also lower the sodium content and YOU control the flavor and concentration!

 

Remember you are not making New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice, they will not take as long to cook as Red Beans do!!  So, towards the end of the cooking time, check the beans often..... Again, you do NOT want to over cook..... THEY will Mush!

 

White Beans with Spiral Cut Ham and Tasso Recipe are a true Southwest Louisiana Traditional Entreè...

 to Home Cookin' Page or Return to Table of Contents

OR Return to Roasted Holiday Thanksgiving Turkey Aurora catering Holiday Recipes

Chef Emile L. Stieffel, Aurora Catering, Inc. email address: ChefEmile@CustomCatering.net
Copyright © 1995 -2018 [Aurora Catering, Inc]. All rights reserved.
Revised: January 31, 2018
This page has been visited