IT’S ONLY A little bit of a joke when I say if I’m ever on death row, for my last meal I’ll be requesting a big hearty bowl of soup beans. And cornbread. Yes, cornbread, please! This is real mountain food—the ultimate comfort food—and as soon as the weather turned toward winter, out would come Mom’s cast iron dutch oven and we’d know soup bean season had begun. Below is my Mom’s methodology for making, which I’m sure came from her mother in that way these things get passed from generation to generation. Although with great respect I have made one slight adaptation compliments of my mom’s dear friend, Bibbie Fraley, which I swear I think she whispered to me when I was a young single gal and she and Mom had come to visit. (How this memory makes me smile!) Anyway, here we go:

1. The night before you plan to make your soup beans, soak your dry Cranberry Beans. Pour them into a colander; pick out any rocks or such; give the hard beans a good rinsing.
2. Transfer the beans to a big bowl and cover with water plus about two inches. Let them soak overnight. (Mom always soaked hers in this way, but I don’t typically plan ahead that well so I often use the quicker on-the-stove method you’ll find on the bean bag. This allows you to soak and cook in the same afternoon.)
3. When you’ve done this, drain the murky water, then put the soft beans in a heavy-bottomed pot with enough fresh water to fully cover the beans, plus a little more.
4. Throw in a good chunk of fatback. I typically use a piece about 4″ x 4″ or so for one bag of beans. Also add (per Mrs. Fraley!) about a teaspoon or so of sugar. 
5. Heat over high until the beans start to boil, then turn down the heat to low and cover the pot. Allow them to simmer. CHECK THE BEANS REGULARLY and add more water if necessary. STIR REGULARLY to be sure they don’t stick. The beans will be done when they’re nice and soft and the water has turned into gravy-ish broth—somewhere around 90 minutes? Maybe two hours? Still I’d check them regularly, starting at about the 15 minute mark just to be sure.
6. When they’re gettin toward done, taste for seasoning and you’ll probably need to add salt and a lot of pepper, perhaps a teaspoon of each. A lot depends on the salt from the fatback, so I wait until the beans are done to first taste, then season. The salt and pepper are a must; they really bring the beans to life!
7. Dish those bad boys up in a bowl and crumble on the cornbread. PRO TIP: You’ll need to divide one large piece of cornbread or go on and get two from the start, as you’ll want plenty for crumbling and it would be A PITY not to have a yummy side of cornbread with butter.
8. Yes, I said it. Soup beans and cornbread, with a side of cornbread.
9. ENJOY!

(Oh! Also! Many folks top their soup beans with onion or Chow Chow, which I’m not against but Mom never did so I don’t.)

I made a pot the other night and I can already tell I’m gonna need to make another soon, just writing about them! I’m also gonna need to stop at Ingles on the way home to Columbia to stock up on several bags of Cranberry Beans, as they’ve become harder to find. I’ll bet Food City carries them, and I used to find them at Food Lion, as well.

Let me know if you decide to make soup beans or if you were raised on them and have other tips! I always find it so interesting to consider regional differences in our most traditional foods.

XXOO

30 Days of Joy

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