bean porridge hot

And they played Bean Porridge Hot.  Facing each other, they clapped their hands together and against each other’s hands, keeping time while they said,

Bean porridge hot,
Bean porridge cold,
Bean porridge in the pot,
Nine days old. …

I like it hot,
I like it cold,
I like it in the pot,
Nine days old.

That was true.  No supper was so good as the thick bean porridge, flavored with a small bit of salt pork, that Ma dipped onto the tin plates when Pa had come home cold and tired from his hunting.  Laura liked it hot, and she liked it cold, and it was always good as long as it lasted.  But it never really lasted nine days.  They ate it up before that.

–Laura Ingalls Wilder in Little House on the Prairie

After years of trial and error, I have finally discovered the best way to make bean porridge.  It’s a three-day process, and the secret is chicken bone broth.

First day:

Make and enjoy a good roast chicken dinner.  Save any leftover chicken and all the bones, skin, and other chicken remains.

Second day:

Pick over the bones.  Set aside usable chicken to use in some other meal (waffles and chicken gravy come to mind).

Put everything else–bones, neck, cartilage, skins–everything–in a stock pot and cover with water.  Simmer all day, adding more water as needed to keep everything covered.  Before bedtime, strain pot contents through colander.  Save broth and chill in refrigerator overnight.  Discard everything else.

Wash pot, and measure in enough dried soup beans.  (This family–nine still at home–uses four cups dry beans.)  Rinse beans thoroughly in cold water, drain.  Add more water, and rinse and drain again.  Do this until the water runs off clear.  (By the way, you should do this for rice, too.)  Then fill with fresh water to twice the volume of beans.  Let stand, covered, on the counter overnight.

Third day:

Drain, rinse, and drain beans one more time.  Stir in the gelatinous mass of chicken broth.  If you don’t use as many beans as we do, save some of the broth for something else.  Add water to cover.  Simmer all day.  By suppertime, the beans should be soft and the broth porridge-y and not watery.

That’s the basic recipe.  During the bean-simmering process, you can add anything else you want: cubed ham*, crumbled bacon*, diced carrots and/or potatoes, onions, ginger, a bay leaf (remove before serving), garlic, salt, pepper, or whatever else suits your fancy.

This is even better warmed over the second day, but we rarely have bean porridge last for nine days.  It gets eaten up way before then.

*Keep in mind, if you use ham or bacon, check the label on the meat if you have anyone in your house with food allergies/intolerances.