Southern Style Green Beans

Every once in awhile, usually when I have BBQ pork or beef, I want classic smokehouse-style green beans (and mac and cheese 😉). You know, the kind from the can, but with bacon? This recipe leverages the salt from rendered low sodium bacon with a little cajun seasoning. However, for two pounds of fresh green beans the sodium as compared to green beans canned cousins is far less.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices reduced sodium bacon diced
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
• 2 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (see Salt Swaps)
• Fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, place the bacon and set to medium heat. Cook for approximately five minutes until browned and fat has rendered.
2. Add onion and stir. Saute for about five minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another one to two minutes until the rawness of the garlic is cooked out.
3. Add green beans and stir, letting the beans heat through for a few minutes. Add chicken stock, with enough to cover the beans, and bring to a simmer. 
4. Reduce heat to low and cover. Give a stir every 20 to 30 minutes, cooking for about an hour or until the beans are fork tender.
5. Season with a few grinds of black pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite hot sauce.

NOTE:

• For a vegan/vegetarian version, opt out of the bacon and start the onions in avocado or coconut oil. Add a few dashes of Liquid Smoke to give flavor depth you’d achieve from the bacon. Also swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock or water, in a pinch.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for more heat.
• This recipe scales very well, both up and down, depending on how many beans you’d like to prepare.

Salt Swaps:

• You’ll get the salt from this dish in the rendered bacon and the cajun seasoning.
• Use low sodium bacon which reduces the salt by more than a third.
• No salt added chicken stock is best for controlling sodium.