Ham & Beans (Firehouse Recipe)

Contributed By: Live. Life. Simple.

1 recipe will fill two large freeze dryer trays*

Directions:

1.  Boil your ham bone in a large stock pot for about an hour (pick as much meat off as you can first) add just enough water to boil the ham bone. 
2. While the ham bone cooks, dice 1 yellow onion, dice your two cloves of garlic, and dice up any meat from the bone. 
3. Trim as much fat from the ham as you can, use the leanest meat you can. 
4. You can either remove as much fat as possible from the hot bone broth, or cool the broth  and remove hardened fat from the surface. 
5. Add all ingredients into your stock pot and cook on low for 3-5 hours, checking every hour for bean consistency. Add a little water as needed to cook beans completely. 
6. On a parchment lined tray, spread ham and beans evenly across the try, using dividers to portion, and lids to pre-freeze.
7. Freeze dry 
8. Store appropriately (See Tips and Tricks for storage help)

Cycle Time:

My cycle time running 5 large trays of Ham & Beans was about 45 hours.

Rehydration:

Add a little boiling water, stir, let sit covered for 5 minutes, add more boiling water, stir, let stand again, repeat to meet desired consistency.

* Large Tray = 8 Cups/tray   Medium = 6 Cups/Tray   Small = 4 Cups/Tray

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.