This is a great dish to make in the winter when cooking warms the whole kitchen.
Ingredients
Beans:
- 2 cups dry pinto beans (about 16 oz)
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves slightly crushed (optional)
- 1 small chunk white onion (optional)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper (optional)
- ¼ lb. ham chunks, ham fat, deli ham, ham bone, salt pork, or bacon
- 6 to 8 cups hot water
Dumplings:
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups flour, divided
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
Directions
Beans:
1. Rinse and sort beans in cold water once or twice until water runs clear.
2a. (Traditional Soak) Cover beans with hot water and soak overnight.
2b (Quick Soak) Cover with 2 inches of hot water. Bring to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
3. Add the other ingredients to the soaked and rinsed beans in a 6-quart pot with 6 cups of hot water. The water should cover beans.
4. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium, keeping it at a simmer. Simmer gently with lid tilted until beans are tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours. Warning: If more water is needed, always add hot or boiling water, a cup or so at a time.
DO NOT ADD COLD WATER TO HOT BEANS — IT WILL CAUSE THE BEANS TO SPLIT.
Dumplings:
5. When beans are almost done, begin to make the dumplings.
6. Beat the eggs
7. Add 1 cup of flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
8. Continue to add the remaining flour until mixture is a very thick dough. A good rule of thumb is that it is not thick enough until your arm hurts trying to mix the dough.
9. Add HOT water to beans until there is about 2” to 3” of water over the beans. Allow the beans to resume simmering.
DO NOT ADD COLD WATER TO HOT BEANS — IT WILL CAUSE THE BEANS TO SPLIT.
10. Use a large spoon to transfer the dumpling dough into the bean broth. Before each dumpling, dip large spoon into bean broth (this helps keep the dough from sticking to the spoon.) Then dip one spoonful of dough into bean broth. The dumpling should separate from the spoon. Repeat until all dough is used.
11. Cook 10 minutes, stirring dumplings occasionally.
Prep Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Description
This is a old family favorite that both Daddy and Grandma Voigt would make for our family. We could make several meals from one pot of beans. In that one pot you have beans, the bean broth – which is like a soup, and the dumplings. The dumplings were a favorite. These are not your typical fluffy dumplings. These are hearty dumplings that will put meat on your bones and fill you up. My sister and I would fight over who would get the last one. If we still had beans left, Daddy would sometimes make a second batch of dumplings.