Imagine tender, slow-cooked green beans infused with the rich, smoky goodness of salty bacon, with a decadent touch of brown sugar and a generous sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes. Simmered to absolute perfection, these green beans are completely make-ahead-friendly, making them the ultimate secret-weapon side dish for stress-free holiday entertaining or hectic last-minute weeknight dinners.
Unfortunately, our local Herndon Farmer’s Market closed for the season last week. But fortunately, in the past couple of weeks before shutting down, one of their vendors had the most gorgeous green beans for sale. And since one of B.O.B. Bob’s favorite vegetables just happens to be green beans, I snatched up several messes of them to freeze for quick-fix dinners throughout the upcoming months. Now, I’ve mentioned before that B.O.B. Bob is traditionally more of a snappy green bean fanatic. And that, unlike him, I am a soft, tender, and cooked-within-an-inch-of-its-life green bean groupie. Pretty much, the longer a green bean is cooked, the more chance there is that I’m gonna want it to become my brand new bestie.
And, for the record, I’ll have y’all know that when it comes to slow-cooking green beans, I’m of the belief that it is not a process that can be rushed. Thirty minutes is not enough cooking time. Sixty minutes is not enough cooking time. Heck, even ninety minutes is not enough cooking time. Y’all, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re not cooking your green beans for at least two hours, then you and I might just have words. Words like lazy, improper, and subpar. Also, just to be clear. Your green beans are gonna need to have some sort of pork cooking along with them if you expect them to be worthy of my acceptance. Without bacon, country ham, salt pork, pancetta, or even a ham hock mixed in, green beans are just boring and flat.
Now, let’s talk about cooking liquid. Some of y’all might just be tempted to fill a pot up with water and toss the green beans right in. Don’t freaking do it. Honestly, from my standpoint, when it comes to adding store-bought broth or stock, I would highly suggest you steer clear of that method as well. Instead, the next time you get a rotisserie chicken, cook down the skin and bones to create your own homemade broth. I’ve even included the directions for this in the suggestions below. You might not think that it will make a huge difference, but I assure you that it 100% does. Ask me how I know? Because I tried it both ways. With store-bought broth and homemade. The homemade broth is far superior. Trust me on this.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Pound Thick-Cut Bacon
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 4 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 3 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Directions:
- Dice the bacon into very small pieces and add it to a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the onion and the salt to the bacon. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, or until the onions become translucent.
- Add the broth, brown sugar, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the green beans come to a rolling boil, cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue to cook for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
Suggestions:
- I used thick-cut bacon for this recipe. The number of slices you use will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon. Adding more or less bacon won’t make a huge difference in this recipe, except for salt content. You may have to adjust the amount of salt. If you use more bacon, use less salt. If you use less bacon, use more salt if needed.
- Use homemade low-sodium chicken broth for this recipe. An average-sized rotisserie chicken should yield approximately 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken. Shred the rotisserie chicken into bite-sized pieces for use in another recipe. Place all the skin and bones in a large stockpot, add 16 cups of cold water, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour. Once cooled slightly, remove and discard the bones and skin, strain the liquid, and store the broth in an airtight container until use. You should end up with approximately 10 cups of chicken broth. Use 4 cups of the homemade broth to make these green beans.
- These green beans aren’t insanely spicy. The brown sugar balances the heat. Feel free to add more or less crushed red pepper flakes to your liking.
- Cooking these green beans low and slow softens them and helps them absorb the flavor of the broth and the bacon.
- Freeze these green beans for later use. Since they are already soft and tender, freezing them will not hurt their texture. I filled upright food storage bags with green beans, froze them for one day, and then sealed the bags. To keep the bags upright in the freezer, I packed them tightly together in a glass bowl.
Improvements:
- Use frozen pearl onions instead of diced sweet yellow onion.
- Replace the brown sugar with pure maple syrup.
- Use finely diced country ham instead of bacon. You most likely won’t need to add salt to the green beans if you are using country ham.
- Serve these green beans with these Crunchy Corn Flake Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders or these Simple Oven-Baked Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloins.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Pound Thick-Cut Bacon
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 4 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 3 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Directions:
- Dice the bacon into very small pieces and add it to a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the onion and the salt to the bacon. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, or until the onions become translucent.
- Add the broth, brown sugar, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the green beans come to a rolling boil, cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue to cook for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
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