zxcvbob wrote:
[snip]
> Yesterday, I pressure cooked the ham hocks by themselves for about 45

> minutes to maybe an hour -- I wanted them to pretty much dissolve
into a
> mass of gelatin. I picked the little bit of meat out of them and
added
> it back to the broth, added the partially soaked beans, 2 bay leaves,
a
> few grinds of black pepper, a pinch of summer savory, and some
crumpled
> dried hot peppers. I pressure cooked it for 10 minutes and let the
> pressure drop slowly without quenching it. Meanwhile, I chopped up
the
> fat and skin and bones from the hocks and boiled them in a little
fresh
> water to extract the rest of the flavor. When I opened the cooker, I

> strained the ham-water into the beans and stirred it up and tasted it

> for seasoning. (it was pretty good and didn't *really* need
anything)

> I sauteed a half an onion and a little bit of celery in some
vegetable
> oil. Added it to the beans, along with a little garlic powder and a
> little more black pepper. Simmered, uncovered, for just a few
minutes
> and it was done. [snip the rest]

Can't argue when a workman knows his tools. I didn't realize that
people used the cookers that flexibly. Thanks. Now, can you really
find a decent one for $20. I looked up some product 'reviews' and they
seemed to be in the $150 range.

-aem

p.s. the beans sounded great right up until you added celery....