Southern-Style Green Beans

I used to spend a great deal of time on the Gulf Coast, and this recipe comes from a friend who told me her grandma always made them this way. It calls for canned beans, but I've used canned, frozen, and fresh with good results. If you're using fresh beans, you'll want to steam them to crisp-tender before going on with the recipe as written. This time, I used a 16 ounce bag of frozen cut green beans, thawed.

What I love about this one is how simple it is, using things I pretty much always have on-hand. The important thing is to not try to cut down on the fat in this or make it healthy. It's not... just enjoy the treat and use as much bacon as it says, and the grease. I have, however, made it using diced ham, but then I add some bacon grease from the jar that lives in my refrigerator.

I like to chop my bacon before I cook it (I've mentioned that before in another post), because it's easier to fit in the pan than full strips and also I swear I get more grease that way. For this recipe, I add the bacon to my cast iron skillet first, then add the onions and cook them together until they're both done. Depending on the size of the onion, I slice it, then either halve or quarter it before separating into rings.

When the bacon is crisp and the onions are starting to almost caramelize, remove them to paper towel to drain. This is the important part! See that beautiful skillet full of bacon grease? Save it. You'll need it later, and it should be almost exactly how much you want to add back in.

After you drain out the grease, pour the sugar-vinegar mixture in the skillet and bring it to a boil. When it boils, reduce your heat back to medium and add the beans to simmer until heated through.

Once the beans are done, add the bacon and onion mixture along with the reserved bacon grease and continue to cook until everything is heated through and the liquid has been reduced. Then, (and this is a step I added after getting feedback from someone who made it) turn off the heat and let it stand for 15-20 minutes. The beans and bacon will absorb almost all the liquid for even better flavour, and they'll still be plenty hot because the cast iron will retain heat for a long time.

Southern-Style Green Beans

Serves 6

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 (14.5 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained

8-10 slices bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, cut into thin rings

Step 1

Combine vinegar and sugar in a small bowl; stir to dissolve sugar.

Step 2

In a cast iron skillet, cook bacon and onions until bacon is crispy.

Step 3

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; reserve 1/4 cup of pan drippings, then wipe out pan.

Step 4

Pour vinegar mixture into skillet and bring to a boil; reduce heat, add green beans, and simmer 5 minutes.

Step 5

Add bacon mixture and reserved drippings to pan and heat through, stirring occasionally (about 5 more minutes).

Step 6

Turn off heat and let stand 15-20 minutes before serving to allow liquid to absorb.

Serving Size: 1 (146.9 g)

Calories 167

Total Fat - 7.7 g

Saturated Fat - 1.7 g

Cholesterol - 19 mg

Sodium - 506.1 mg

Total Carbohydrate - 14.4 g

Dietary Fiber - 2 g

Sugars - 2.5 g

Protein - 9.4 g