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–+ servings
Close bowl of white navy bean and pork hock soup in the WFLI kitchen
Ebonie Garnica

White Navy Bean and Pork Hock Soup

Very soft properly prepared white navy beans, pulled pork, carrots, celery, onion, garlic and thyme in homemade chicken Meat Stock. Plan the beans several days ahead, then add them only after the hocks are tender. Original yield: 6 to 8 servings.
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Servings: 6 servings
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Prepare the Beans:
  • 1 pound dried white navy beans
  • Pure bicarbonate of soda one pinch for the first soak plus another pinch whenever the soak water is changed
  • Warm water enough to cover the beans by at least 2 inches, for soaking
  • Fresh water for fermentation and cooking
  • Homemade whey or kefir at a ratio of 1/2 cup for every 1 quart fresh fermentation water
For the Soup:
  • 2 meaty pork hocks naturally smoked with no sugar or chemical additives after natural smoke is tolerated; otherwise fresh, additive-free and uncured
  • 8 cups homemade chicken Meat Stock made from a raw whole bird or raw meaty bone-in pieces
  • 6 ribs celery cut into bite-size pieces
  • 6 carrots cut into 1/2-inch coins
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 10 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt plus more to taste if needed

Equipment

  • 1 Large glass bowl or wide-mouth jar for soaking and fermenting
  • 1 Large stainless steel pot for cooking the beans in fresh water
  • 1 Slow cooker with ceramic crock and glass lid
  • 1 Fine-mesh colander
  • 1 Pair of sturdy tongs
  • 1 Chef’s knife and wooden cutting board

Method
 

  1. Soak the beans. Put the dried white navy beans in a large glass bowl or jar and cover them with warm water by at least 2 inches. Stir in a pinch of pure bicarbonate of soda. Soak for 18 to 24 hours. Replace the water with freshly simmered warm water once or twice as it cools, adding another pinch of pure bicarbonate each time. Drain and rinse.
  2. Ferment the beans. Cover the soaked beans with fresh water. Measure how much water you use, then add 1/2 cup homemade whey or kefir for every quart. Leave the beans in a warm place for 4 to 6 days, keeping them under the liquid. Drain and rinse.
    Soaked white navy beans submerged for fermentation beside homemade whey
  3. Cook the beans separately. Bring a large pot of fresh water to a full boil. Add the fermented beans and let the water return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are very soft all the way through, then drain. A bean should crush easily with no firm or chalky center.
  4. Load the slow cooker. Put the 2 selected pork hocks, chicken Meat Stock, celery, carrots, onion, garlic and thyme into the slow cooker. Do not add the beans yet. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, until the pork pulls easily from the bones.
    Two pork hocks, vegetables, thyme and chicken meat stock loaded in a slow cooker
  5. Finish the soup. Lift out the thyme and pork hocks with tongs. Pull the meat from the bones and return it to the slow cooker. Stir in the fully cooked beans and 2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt. Heat until the beans are hot, then taste and add more salt only if needed.

Notes

Original yield: 6 to 8 servings. The card uses 6 as the numeric base so the fixed ingredients scale correctly; the original yield range remains here. Keep the fermentation starter at a ratio of 1/2 cup homemade whey or kefir for every 1 quart fresh water, regardless of batch size. Prepare the beans completely before adding them to the soup. Use naturally smoked hocks only after natural smoke is tolerated and only when they contain no sugar or chemical additives; otherwise use fresh additive-free uncured hocks. Use homemade raw-meaty chicken Meat Stock, not long-cooked bare-bone broth.

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