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1.
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In a large bowl, cover the beans with 12 cups of cold water and set the beans to soak overnight.
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NOTE: You must let these beans soak.
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Beans that are tough an hour into cooking, will not get less tough the longer you cook them.
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Beans absorb most of their moisture in the soaking process.
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2.
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Come back the next day and drain the beans and then rinse them in a strainer really well until all of the dust and grit is gone and they look shiny and clean!
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3.
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Pour them into a large pot and just cover them with water.
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4.
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Bring them to a boil.
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A weird white foam will come to the top of the pot.
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5.
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Skim the white foam off and discard it.
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This will take a few minutes of skimming.
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6.
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When most of the foam has been removed, you can reduce the heat to low and simmer with the lid on for an hour.
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At the 40 minute point, start the next step.
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7.
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When the beans have been cooking for 40 minutes, get out a large saute pan.
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Heat the pan to high and add your ham hocks, searing them until they start to get browned on all sides and the fat starts to render, about 5-7 minutes.
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8.
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Add the onions to the pan and toss them with the ham and rendered fat.
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Let them cook until the onions are softened and starting to get golden, about 5 minutes.
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Then add the 2 cups of water and use it to deglaze the pan.
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Add the fresh thyme and let everything simmer together on low heat so that the broth gets really flavorful.
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9.
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After 1 hour check the beans to see if they are tender enough.
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If they are, drian the beans of their cooking liquid and then put the pot back on the stove.
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(If they are not, cook for another 10-15 minutes.)
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10.
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Pull the ham hocks out of the saute pan and set aside.
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11.
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Add the red wine vinegar to the broth in the saute pan and let the mixture simmer while you process the ham.
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12.
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For the ham hocks, use tongs (they will be hot!)
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and a knife, and cut the meat from the skin and bone.
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Chop the ham into bite sized pieces (mine yielded about 1 cup of meat) and discard the skin and fatty bits.
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13.
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Add the bones and ham chunks back to the broth, and then add the entire contents of the pan into the drained beans.
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14.
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Over low heat with the lid on, let everything simmer together for about 10-15 minutes while the flavors are absorbed into the beans.
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15.
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Now is the time to check seasoning.
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Salt, black pepper, and a little more acid (red wine vinegar).
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See how they taste!
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16.
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Dish up a big bowl, and maybe drizzle a little olive oil over it for good measure.
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Enjoy!
