Papa Lebga

I got this recipe, basically from a cooking show years ago, Caprial's show. I've tweaked it over time, probably make it slightly differently each time.



Back when I worked for TradeNet, a Holiday Ham was an annual deal, they gave them out right before Christmas. It's one of the few commercial hams I'll eat, it's not brined like Honeybaked or those 'ham and water product' vomit-loafs. Anyway, my Dad's Christmas buffet this year featured both a Holiday Ham for me and my brethren and a Honey Baked for the Philistines I somehow ended up related to.



I got the bone from the good ham, which is the ideal starter for this soup. Caprial used a couple of ham hocks, and that works too. Not think I'd have a Holiday bone this year, I had bought some ham hocks, and when the bone showed up to the party (with quite a bit of good meat still on it), I decided to throw it all in the stock.



Which is when I, once again, stared feeling my six quart stockpot's inadequacy. It's quality stuff, RevereWare given to me and the Artist Formerly Known as Frau Lobster back before we were married. And while one of the handles is gone, it's still a solid piece. But I always seem to want more room. Like when I'm trying to make a stock from four ham hocks and a shank half ham bone.




I shredded a couple of carrots, minced a few stalks of celery, diced a large onion and sauteed these in a couple tablespoons of olive oil for a start. Then I added the aforementioned pig parts and covered with chicken broth, adding a couple tablespoons of minced garlic and a can of diced tomatoes.




I let this simmer for about four and a half hours, topping up with another can of chicken broth every hour or so. Six 28 oz. cans in all, boiled down to less than a gallon including the bones and whatnot.



I chilled the stock to allow the fat to rise and solidify so I could cut the artery-clogging factor down. When I did, I found that while I could de-fat the stock just fine, I had also reduced to the point of consomme more than the point of stock. There was so much gelatin in the mix that I had to heat it a bit to free up the bones for removal.



What to do but dilute this? Well, but for that, I'd need a bigger pot. Which is when I snapped and bought a sixteen quart jobby (cheap, made in Brazil but it seems solid and it is BIG), along with a couple quarts of vegetable broth to cut the stock with.



I added black pepper and the raison detre, chipotle, at this point, as well as two and a half pounds of Andouille sausage. Oh, and eight cans of black beans, undrained.  The pepper is 'to taste,' which in my case means maybe  a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half of chipotle powder, and black pepper until I was bored with grinding it. 



An optional move is to remove maybe a pint of beans and run them through the blender to thicken the broth, but after the whole Jell-O fiasco, I figured my stock was rich enough.



It made ten Gladwares worth of leftovers, and that was after I made a pig of myself on four bowls of the stuff.