Born and raised a southern gal

[boffler]

I was born and raised in the south, in the hills of KY, lived in a holler...and yes that is how we pronounced it...and I know this is a recipe forum so here goes:
Has anyone else ever heard of these, ate these, or made these? Shucky Beans? I have some in my freezer now, and as you will read these were made around the holidays or special occasions when you had company. Along with going out and finding a good hen, wringing its neck, putting it under a wash tub until it stopped flopping around...then scald it with hot water, pluck the feathers, then light a paper bag or newspaper on fire that has been twisted tightly and synge all the little feathers off that might be left, gut it, chop of head and feet then continue to clean and cut it up to get ready to make chicken and dumplings. Along with that of course there always had to be a pone of cornbread..we always made fluffy drop dumplings. http://www.food.com/recipe/shucky-beans-264351
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEV1GZtRJVSzwAKlVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEz ZDRoamprBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNjA3XzEEc2 VjA3Nj?p=Shucky+Beans&fr=yfp-t-312

http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-dry-beans-to-make-shucky-beans-264684

[JoGee]

I'm a city girl, raised on the outskirts of Detroit.
So tell me about the shucks beans...were they cooked in the chicken broth, or what.

Now, my grandma was a farm girl from Poland. She shucked beans...had a very large garden. Raised chickens, too. Now I remember her preparing chicken the way you described. My grandpa just cut off its head, then in was her business to deal with the chicken. Not that she never wrung a neck or two.
So, on year when I was a little tyke, my mom decided to cook a fresh turkey. My grandpa cut off its head (he lived across the street). Had a special tree stump for that purpose. My mom must have spent 6-7 hours plucking and cleaning. I had pliers to remove the base of feathers, when she took a break. She singed the bird over the stove, though.
Now, I don't recall if she cooked it slow overnight, or waited til morning. She was really beat!
Ever since then, she got frozed turkeys as a gift at work; or if she wanted fresh chicken or duck, I'd walk over the railroad tracks (we lived next to them), and 3-4 blocks over to the poultry market, where uou pick your bird and they processed (cleaned) the fowl for you. I remember the chicken feet and other stuff they sold from their butcher's case, and the old ladies would be crowding in to get them for soup!

Pity, but there are no poultry markets like that any more.

[boffler]

The links I posted tell you all about shucky beans and then how they are prepared...the dumplings were a total separate thing..

[JoGee]

Okay....got the recipe on the first link. It looked like all one link on my iPad, and I got the 2nd one with just miles of pictures in it.

OK...yes, I've had shucked beans prepared by a Louisiana friend. Unfortunately, she liked to use salt by handfuls, but prepared them the same way, otherwise. They would have been good, otherwise. But I did learn to cook with salt pork, or ham bones, or bacon, from her. A little Mexican guy would bring truckloads of greens, beans, and other veggies and sell it pretty cheaply to young military wives. I'd get a big paper grocery sack from him, which he literally stuffed generously and tightly into the bag. I'd get all that for 25 cents, because I was patient and let the other young wives buy and leave. I bought a few other veggies to throw in, and I'm sure he gave me extra. I'd usually had bacon on hand, unless someone would take us on a run to the commissary.

[JoGee]

I had tried tapping on the pictures in the 2nd site. They weren't all opening. But I did get it to work, finally.

[Pat B]

I've never seen dried green beans. Hmmm... But we do cook fresh green beans here the same way.

[boffler]

Growing up I loved just string them then with needle and thread stringing them on the string to hang on clothes line to dry...sometimes memories just flood the brain..
Like chitlings in a gallon jar in the cellar, picked corn on the cob, pickled green beans, corn and cabbage together in a jar, sauerkraut, etc. lots of jams and jellies of all flavors, we did live of the fat of the land..and it tasted great...most kids looked forward to school letting out for summer vacation, not me and my sisters, we knew it would all be work, work, work...