Southern Great Northern Beans with Smoked Turkey & Golden Ho Cakes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This recipe delivers velvety-smooth white beans infused with deep, smoky flavor from tender turkey neckbones, paired with traditional, pan-fried cornmeal ho cakes to mop up every last drop of gravy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus overnight bean soak)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Servings: 6\u20138 servings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ingredients<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Great Northern Beans:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 lb dried Great Northern beans (sorted and rinsed)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.5 to 2 lbs smoked turkey neckbones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 large yellow onion, finely diced<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 green bell pepper, finely diced<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3 cloves garlic, minced<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or water)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2 bay leaves<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bd tsp black pepper<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salt to taste (hold until the end, as smoked turkey can be quite salty)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hot sauce (for serving)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Ho Cakes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bd cup all-purpose flour<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 tsp baking powder<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bd tsp salt<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 tbsp sugar (optional, for a hint of sweetness)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 large egg, beaten<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00be cup buttermilk (or whole milk)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2 tbsp melted butter or bacon grease<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vegetable oil or bacon grease (for frying)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step-by-Step Instructions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Prep and Simmer the Smoked Turkey<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soak the Beans: Place dried beans in a large bowl, cover with water by at least 3 inches, and soak overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking. (See tips for the quick-soak method).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Build the Broth Base: In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, add the smoked turkey neckbones, diced onion, bell pepper, minced garlic, and bay leaves. Pour in the chicken broth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simmer the Turkey: Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. This allows the smoked meat to get tender and creates a rich, deeply flavored stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Cook the Beans<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combine: Add the drained, soaked beans, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper to the pot with the turkey. Ensure the liquid covers the beans by about an inch (add a splash more broth or water if needed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simmer until Velvety: Bring back to a gentle boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are completely tender and creamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shred the Meat: Carefully remove the turkey neckbones from the pot. Pull the tender meat off the bones, discard the bones\/cartilage, and stir the shredded smoky meat back into the beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thicken the Gravy: If you like an extra-creamy bean gravy, take the back of a wooden spoon and mash a small portion of the beans against the side of the pot, then stir them back in. Taste and adjust for salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Fry the Ho Cakes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Add Wet Ingredients: Stir in the beaten egg, buttermilk, and melted butter until just combined. The batter should look like thick pancake batter. If it\u2019s too thick, add a splash more buttermilk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fry until Golden: Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil or bacon grease in a heavy skillet (cast iron is best!) over medium-high heat. Drop the batter by the spoonful into the hot skillet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flip: Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles form on top and the edges are golden brown and crispy. Flip and fry for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Southern Great Northern Beans with Smoked Turkey & Golden Ho Cakes This recipe delivers velvety-smooth white beans infused with deep, smoky flavor from tender turkey neckbones, paired with traditional, pan-fried cornmeal ho cakes to mop up every last drop of gravy. Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus overnight bean soak) Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes … Full Recipe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","infinite-scroll-item","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3073"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3075,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073\/revisions\/3075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesforyou.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}