Ingredients

  • Lima beans (I use about a Ziploc quart bag full)
  • Vidalia onion (1 medium)
  • Garlic (3-5 cloves)
  • Thick Cut Bacon (I prefer hickory smoked and get mine in the deli behind the counter at Kroger) (5 slices)
  • Butter (2 tbsp)
  • Chicken Stock (enough to cover the lima beans)
  • Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Start by chopping the onion and mincing the garlic. Set aside.
  2. Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces. You can use scissors to make this a little easier. Add the bacon to a hot skillet. This is going to sound super unhealthy, but I also add about a tablespoon of butter when I'm cooking the bacon. You know what they say: butter makes everything better.
  3. Once you've rendered the bacon, remove it from the skillet and onto a paper towel lined plate. Do NOT drain the grease! Reduce the heat and add the onion and minced garlic to the grease in the skillet. You want to get a little color on the onion and garlic so that fond forms on the bottom of the skillet. For those of you who haven't heard this term, fond is the caramelized brown bits that form on the bottom of the pan; this is where your depth of flavor comes from. It can burn easily and we want to incorporate the flavor of the fond into the rest of the dish; this is why we deglaze.
  4. Once the onion and garlic is translucent, fragrant, and has a little color on it, add the bacon and the lima beans.
  5. Deglaze the skillet by adding the chicken stock. Make sure to scrape up the fond off of the bottom of the skillet so that it doesn't burn. Add a tablespoon of butter. Bring the beans to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
  6. Let these cook until they are tender, about 40 minutes, give or take. Serve in a bowl with corn bread and you're good to go. Bon Appetit!

Chef's notes