Growing up, these were the kind of green beans I would eat at friend’s houses for dinner, particularly on Sundays when grandmamas would send me home with a plate for my mom to enjoy. I love a good Southern stewed vegetable, and these green beans are no exception. Normally, I like to eat my vegetables on the fresher side, quickly sautéed or seared with lots of onion or garlic and not stewed or soft. But when I’m craving something super nostalgic, I always turn to these.

I don’t mind a mushy vegetable when they’re super tender and seasoned with smoky pork and lots of aromatics. Because, hey, pork makes everything taste good. This is my take on it since I didn’t add the little white potatoes that I always grew up seeing because I happened to run out of potatoes when I decided to make this. Either way, it’s super delicious and easy to make if you have a little patience. Add in a handful or two of small halved potatoes if you want to bulk this out and if you don’t want to use pork, you can definitely substitute smoked turkey wings or tails. Let’s get going.

Stewed Green Beans

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

1 smoked pork neck bone

1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 small bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock, unsalted

Large pinch kosher salt

Large pinch cracked black pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp granulated garlic

1lb green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces

1-2 tbsp honey, to taste

In a medium-sized pot, add the smoked neck bone, sliced onion, bay leaves, chicken stock, kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and granulated garlic. Over medium heat, bring to a boil and let everything simmer together and hang out until the onions start to soften and become translucent, about 10-15 minutes.

Then, add in the trimmed and cut green beans and stir. Turn the heat down to medium-low and partially cover the pot with a lid and let everything simmer for 45 minutes.

Once the time passes, serve the green beans with your favorite protein and enjoy! I topped my bowl with a little smoked sea salt and a few dashes of hot sauce. You can also take some of the meat from the smoked neck bone and pick it off so everyone gets a little bit of pork mixed in with the beans.

¡Buen provecho!