"Green Beans"...YUM! (and not what you think).

Are they green? Well, sort of. Are they beans? Yep. Are they green beans? Nope, nothing of the sort!

They are delicious though! (like off-the-hook good).

I'll post the recipe which got me hooked originally, and explain some variations later. Incidentally, this recipe is an original from me. I experimented around with this for a while to get it right. (the experimenting is always one of the fun parts anyway).

The fastest way to summarize this dish is...beans & ham with green chili, more specifically; Anasazi beans, hickory smoked ham shanks, green chili, onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers and spices. It's like a cross between ham & beans, green chili and a tex-mex twist. And yes, it will blow your socks right off your feet!

I'll list the recipe the really simple way first, and then if anyone is interested in some of the variations I can list those later. First off, the recipe listed is for 2, possibly 3 people, depending on portion size. You can scale accordingly.

Recipe for "Green Beans"

1 Cup Anasazi beans - soaked overnight. (Don't worry if you can't get Anasazi beans, just use pintos or any other light bean like northerns or navy)
(Note - I can't recommend this dish with kidney beans or black beans, mostly because I haven't tested this and don't care for them).
1 Large Ham Shank - Shanks are different than 'hocks' as they have more meat. You can use hocks, but double the amount.
1 Cup - Chicken stock or broth
1/2 Med Yellow Onion - Rough chopped
2 Jalapeno peppers - Halved, seeded and thick sliced
1 Cup Hatch 505 brand "Green Chili Sauce", Medium heat - (Note - it's more brownish than green) (note - I use med so everyone can partake, hot is even better)
1 Cup Poblano and Green Chili Salsa, Mild - (Again, Mild so it's not too hot for others, but you can go hotter if desired)
2 Garlic cloves - minced / diced.
1 Tsp - Ground Cumin
1/2 Tsp - Coarse ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse the beans and drain.
2. Place the ham shank in a small-medium sized slow cooker (you want the ham shank covered or mostly covered if possible).
3. Add all of the rest of the ingredients.
4. Gently stir to combine the ingredients.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours, or medium for 6 hours. (check the liquid levels periodically. If low, add some more 'Hatch 505 sauce'
6. When the ham is falling off the shanks, remove them, take the meat off, shred it and return it to the slow cooker along with the bones for flavor and stir gently.

Serving suggestions - You can serve this dish in a bowl like you would cowboy beans. Or, you can serve this over tortillas like a loose taco. Some chopped cilantro is nice for a more Tex-Mex flavor. The wife really likes some sour cream with hers, in a bowl. This one is a real crowd pleaser because the possibilities are endless for how you serve it.

Footnotes -

a.) No Anasazi beans where you are? - no biggie, just use northerns, pintos or navy.
b.) The Hatch 505 sauce is kind of important; it's a no-meat green chili "sauce" (not a salsa) and it has a really spectacular bright flavor and it's pretty thick almost like tomato paste. You can probably use any green chili (again, NOT salsa) but you might have to kick it up a few notches to get to the 505 flavor.
c.) One of the variations I do (in lieu of the Hatch 505 sauce) is to make my own green chili sauce. I can provide some guidance if desired. However, if you already have a family green chili recipe by all means use that!

Lastly, even if you hate green beans, you'll love these "green beans"!

P.S. And hey, in keeping with the ATS (little green) Alien theme, even ET might give you a pass.

ETA - One of the things which really makes this dish pop is the hickory smoked ham shank. Normally, green chili is made with pork, but not smoked pork. The hickory smoked pork in these beans really takes it out of the "chili' spectrum and puts it in another league. If you can't get hickory smoked ham shanks where you are, you could add a little hickory smoke liquid to the beans. Go easy though because it's a very subtle flavor you're looking for.

BTW...for those interested, here is the 505 sauce I refer to (just so you know what you're looking for in the store)...

505 Green Chili Sauce - Med

...and here's the "hot" version (which is really, really, good...and it's HOT too!)

505 Green Chili Sauce - Hot

And no, I am in no way affiliated with the company at all. It's just some of the better green chili sauce I've found so far.

You're out in Colorado. Green chili sauce is like your national food out there. I'm over in Missouri. Good luck finding it here.

Those beans sound good, but I'm working against a complete tendermouth in my kiddo and a husband who's not into beans very much although he might consider these as they're meaty.

I mean we made a cherry/chipotle variant jerky for our car trip this weekend, and kiddo was done with it after a mouthful (good thing I made half the batch basic variant so he has some to enjoy too).

a reply to: ketsuko

Well, I'm sure some in Colorado would love to claim the Green Chili crown, but honestly I think that title belongs to New Mexico. In fact, NM is where Hatch chilies come from. There's a few folks up here who can make it pretty well, but nothing like some of the folks in NM.

In any case, yes, this dish probably wouldn't work for your family if they don't like spicy. It's not 'hot' really, but it's not bland by a long shot. So yeah, you probably should skip this one.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Don't really want to, but I'd be the only one who'd eat 'em in this house right now. Makes me a sad panda.

Why did they axe your other thread?

On topic... I was checking out all the varieties of green chili sauces and salsas that Hatch 505 has to offer.
They don't carry them at the grocery stores near me. I will have to get them from Amazon.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

So I grew up there. Hatch gets the media credit, but of late any chiles grown in the southern third of the state are equal to Hatch grown chiles. The soils, climate, strains, and methods are identical with the only real difference being the sources of the irrigation water. Mesilla Valey and Hatch are irrigated from the Rio Grande river and Deming/Luna is groundwater irrigated. Personally, I think the ground water irrigated are better and hotter (but I grew up on those so...)

I've had basically the recipe you're posting many times, only Mom made it with pinto beans, homemade green chile sauce and salsa, and we never used poblanos that much. Big Jims and Jalepenos were about the only two peppers she ever used in the house, with habaneros used later just for me since I preferred my food fairly spicy.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Poblanos have their place. We use them quite a bit with a bit of either jalapeno or serrano to get just a hint of a nip, but my family doesn't go in for spice. I'm the anomaly.

a reply to: butcherguy

I don't recommend amazon, their prices are 2x (or more) what you can buy them direct for.

Bunch of thieves on amazon anymore.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I love habaneros, but they have such a pronounced flavor it's hard to use them in food because they take over and that's all you can taste.

And yes, I'm one of those...as hot as you can possibly make it!...kinda guys. I have to ratchet things back (way back) when I cook for other people (like my bride). Love the hot stuff!

Though, I have to admit, I'm not into the reapers and bhutlahs. That's a little too hot for me. The chocolate bhutlah does have an interesting flavor though...for the first few seconds.