Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Navy Beans / Great Northern Beans

My father used to make navy beans and ham hocks when I was a kid, which I recall fondly. I probably haven’t had that in about 45 years. I’m going to give it a try on the stove.

I have several questions, and I would appreciate any helpful feedback.

FIRST: Which are better: Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans

SECOND: How long do I simmer the beans on the stove top after boiling?
I looked up quite a number of recipes, and it varies from 1 hour to 7 hours. What is correct?
I think I recall my parents simmering them for a very long time.

THIRD: Here is my plan. Many thanks in advance if you can let me know if I could improve it by doing something different:

Soak 16 ounces of beans overnight.

Drain the beans in a colander.

Put the following into a pot: the soaked beans; 32 ounces of chicken stock; 1/2 cup olive oil; and some salt and seasoning.
Bring to a boil.
Simmer for __ hours (see above).
Add more broth or water as needed.

About 90-120 minutes before finished, add in the following:
- two or three blended tomatoes;
- some blended arugula;
- one chopped red onion; and
- about a 1-1/2 lbs of diced pork loin.
Note: I could put those items in from the beginning, but I assume that that might be too long, but perhaps I'm overthinking that.

Anything wrong with that plan?

I soak the beans over night. Pick out the floaters, drain and rinse. Leave a little water and add chicken or beef stock to cover beans and the smoked ham hocks, shank, or neck bones. No salt, the smoked pork is salty. Little black pepper and cook on a low boil or simmer for about 2 hours, check water level, add as needed. Cook longer and you'll know it's done when the meat falls off the bone and the beans are tender.

Cornbread in a cast iron pan. So good make you wanna slap yer grandma.

As a reference, I use the "quick cook" method on the package.

Cover your beans with at least a inch of water and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a minute or two then kill the heat, cover and let stand for an hour. Drain, put all your fixins in and simmer. After about an hour (stirring about every 10 minutes) start sampling. Somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half they'll be good.

I favor great northerns.

I cook mine in a crock pot. About 24 hours. Cooked down almost to soup. Ladle it out over jalapeno cornbread. With a tall glass of Maker's.

I’d go with the smoked ham hocks and skip the pork loin. How long you cook the beans is dependent on how old (dry) the beans are to start with, how long you soak them, whether they were soaked in cold water or started in boiled water, etc. The last beans I cooked that had been in my food storage for a few years took 6 or 7 hours to get tender. Beans from the store might take half that time if they are fresh.
As far as Great Northerns vs Navy they pretty much taste the same to me, GN’s are larger and will take a little longer to cook.

Thank you all for the helpful comments.

great northern

hated 'em as a kid, the old man loved them. Now I eat them once a week

No salt until beans are tender.

GNB's when I get to simmer stage I chop half an onion and some baby carrots. I like ham in mine..mb

One pound navy beans, in a pressure cooker, qt chicken broth,2 cups chopped ham, teaspoon mustard powder, couple of bay leaves, teaspoon pepper. Cook one hour after up to pressure, cool down pressure cooker under water, Ready to eat, better next day.

Mike

I would replace the pork loin with ham hocks or even smoked, thick cut bacon cooked down a bit before adding in. Pork loin will add nothing to the mix unless you brown it up pretty well before adding it.

Dump em in a pot, add water, salt, and a hunk of country ham hock, jowl bacon, etc. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for a couple of hours. If they aren’t soft enough, simmer longer. White beans don’t take as long to cook as pintos, and if you cook them too hot or too long, they turn into mush.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought Navy and Great Northern beans were the same thing.

They’re delicious.

Dump em in a pot, add water, salt, and a hunk of country ham hock, jowl bacon, etc. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for a couple of hours. If they aren’t soft enough, simmer longer. Remove lid and turn the heat up to medium and cook water out to desired consistency. White beans don’t take as long to cook as pintos, and if you cook them too hot or too long, they turn into mush.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought Navy and Great Northern beans were the same thing.

Great northern are larger than navy beans.

No salt at all.

Don't need salt.

They do if I’m gonna eat em.

Taste and salt as needed.

Yelloweyes are the choice of bean he re.