Rinse the beans in a colander under cold running water. Sort through them and discard any malformed or damaged beans or small pebbles.
Put the beans in a large bowl and cover them with water. Soak for 6 hours or overnight.
Place the beans and ham hocks in the crock pot with the bay leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover with 6 cups of water.
Cover the pot and cook for 6 to 8 hours on high, or until the beans are tender. Remove the ham hock and bay leaves, then dice or shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot.
Taste the beans and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Mix well. Serve and enjoy.
For a bit of extra flavor, add 3 cloves of minced garlic to the beans before slow cooking and/or dice a medium onion and add that to the beans.
For a Tex-Mex flavor twist, add 2 teaspoons of chili powder and about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (or to taste). Add a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes (chili style, fire roasted, or tomatoes with green chile peppers) when you season them with salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes longer and serve them with corn or flour tortillas or crushed tortilla chips.
Ingredients
Directions
Rinse the beans in a colander under cold running water. Sort through them and discard any malformed or damaged beans or small pebbles.
Put the beans in a large bowl and cover them with water. Soak for 6 hours or overnight.
Place the beans and ham hocks in the crock pot with the bay leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover with 6 cups of water.
Cover the pot and cook for 6 to 8 hours on high, or until the beans are tender. Remove the ham hock and bay leaves, then dice or shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot.
Taste the beans and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Mix well. Serve and enjoy.
For a bit of extra flavor, add 3 cloves of minced garlic to the beans before slow cooking and/or dice a medium onion and add that to the beans.
For a Tex-Mex flavor twist, add 2 teaspoons of chili powder and about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (or to taste). Add a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes (chili style, fire roasted, or tomatoes with green chile peppers) when you season them with salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes longer and serve them with corn or flour tortillas or crushed tortilla chips.