Ingredients

• 3 bay leaves
• 1 ½ thyme; dried
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
• 2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 6 c rice (cooked)

Directions

• Directions
• Cover the beans with water and allow to stand overnight or place the beans in water and bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand at least 2 hours.
• Drain the beans, and rinse well.
• Put 10 c water, the meat, vegetables and seasonings, in a kettle and simmer for about 1 ½ hours, or until the meat is very tender.
• Remove the ham hocks from the pan, and add the beans, add additional water as needed.
• Simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, and adding water if necessary.
• The beans should be tender in about 1 ½ hours.
• Remove the meaty parts of the ham hocks and discard the bones and skin.
• Add the meat to the beans the last 10 or 15 minutes of the cooking time.
• Serve over the rice with hot cornbread, or spoonbread.