“If you saw two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think liked dolphins most? I’d say Flippy, wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong though. It’s Hambone.”

-Jack Handey

– November 2024 Update –

I made this recipe back in 2013 and realized I don’t really eat ham that much, so when I insisted my husband bring home a hambone from his work’s Thanksgiving lunch I decided to give this recipe another go. I made a few adjustments.

I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my leftover Christmas ham. The bone seemed too good to just throw away. I did a few recipe searches and I found this one, and it sounded really good.

I didn’t follow it exactly, so I thought I should write out my version here. If you have the foresight to soak the beans while you’re at work, this soup could be made as a weeknight dinner. You could use canned beans in a pinch, but then the beans might not be as flavorful since the dried beans simmer in the ham-steeped stock till tender. This was the best soup I have made in a long time.

Leftover Hambone Soup

Serves 6-ish
Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dried beans (navy or pinto work great)
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 meaty hambone plus extra ham
1 piece of Parmesan rind (optional)
freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 sprigs fresh thyme
4 small Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons butter (optional, read recipe)
2 tablespoons flour (optional, read recipe)
Fresh parsley, to serve
Sour cream, to serve

Directions:

Pour the dried beans into a saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Cover and soak beans for six hours.

Drain and rinse the beans and add them to a large dutch oven. Add enough chicken stock to cover the beans by two inches. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, hambone, parmesan rind, pepper, and bay leaf. The hambone will probably stick out a bit. Cover and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for 1.5 hours or until the beans are tender. Add more stock if needed.

Remove the hambone and take off most of the meat. Let the meat cool and break it up into bite-sized pieces or cube up any leftover ham you might have saved so you have about 1.5 cups of ham bits. Place the bone and meat back into the pot along with the paprika, thyme and potatoes. Add more stock if it’s looking like it isn’t soupy enough. Let it simmer partially covered until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bone, bay leaf and the parmesan rind (if you can find it – if someone finds it in their soup bowl it’s good luck maybe!) Add salt to taste.

If you’d like your soup to be thicker, create a roux as follows: about 10 minutes before serving, heat the butter in a small sauté pan. Add the flour and stir into a paste. Cook for one minute on medium. Add about 1/2 cup of hot soup to the pan and whisk till thick and smooth. Add this roux to the soup. Cook soup another 5 minutes to thicken. If it’s too thick, add a little water.

Serve in large soup bowls with a dollop of sour cream, fresh parsley and a piece of rustic bread.