The Secret to Making Southern Style Green Beans - Fresh Or Canned

 

What I am about to share with isn't a particularly healthy recipe, especially if you are watching your weight or being careful about salt or fat. Just keep that in mind before trying this. However, if you've ever eaten green beans at a good southern style restaurant - or even at your mom's or grandmother's or a family reunion - and wondered how on earth they could taste so good when yours tastes - well so green, that secret is what I am going to share with you now. And the really neat thing, is that this trick works just as well with canned beans as it does with fresh ones.

The first thing you need is a bullion cube; either beef or chicken will work. The other thing you need is butter. For about a two-quart pot of beans, I use one bullion cube and a half stick of butter. You can adjust this for a larger or smaller amount.

For fresh beans ready to cook, I add the bullion and the butter and fill the pot nearly to the top with water. Then I let it cook on medium heat for three or four hours until the water is nearly all cooked out. If the water is gone before the beans get done enough for me (dark green and soft), then I add a little water as necessary. Just before serving, I turn up the burner and use the Southern trick of "cooking dry." You have to be careful not to let them stick, but basically, you cook them up to the point of sticking - until nearly every bit of water is cooked out. They are now ready to enjoy and won't need any extra seasoning.

For canned beans, the process is very similar. I do drain the water out of the beans first, then add the bullion and the butter and add fresh water - but not as much as for fresh beans. You just need enough to cover the beans - and you can always add a little more later if you need to. Just as with the fresh beans, you use the "cooking dry" secret, and I promise you will be pleasantly surprised. You will be hard-pressed to tell the canned beans from the fresh ones.

So, if you don't mind adding a little salt and a little fat to your otherwise healthy green beans, try this little Southern trick next time - and enjoy your beans!