Ono Grindz 808
Soups & Noodles

Portuguese Bean Soup

Ham hocks, Portuguese sausage, kidney beans, cabbage, macaroni. Rainy-day law.

Prep20 min
Cook2½ hr
Total2 hr 50 min
Serves10

Every school cafeteria, church fundraiser, and rainy Hilo afternoon runs on Portuguese bean soup. It's a plantation-era pot: smoky ham hocks and garlicky Portuguese sausage simmered with beans and vegetables, with elbow macaroni added because this is Hawai'i and of course it is.

It makes a huge pot on purpose. It's better on day two, and it freezes like a champion.

How fo’ make ’um

  1. Simmer the ham hocks in the water with the bay leaves, partially covered, for 1½–2 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone. Skim foam early on.
  2. Pull out the hocks. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discard skin and bones, and return the meat to the pot.
  3. In a skillet, brown the Portuguese sausage, then sauté the onion and garlic in the rendered fat. Scrape it all into the pot.
  4. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer 20 minutes.
  5. Add the kidney beans, cabbage, and macaroni. Simmer 12–15 minutes more, until the macaroni is soft (soft, not al dente — see mac salad rules).
  6. Season with salt and pepper — go easy on salt until the end, since the hocks carry plenty. Serve with rice on the side or a heel of sweet bread.

Local tips

  • No Portuguese sausage on the mainland? Linguiça is the same family; hot links work in a pinch.
  • The soup thickens overnight — thin day-two soup with water and re-season.
  • Some families add watercress at the end. Some add more macaroni. All are valid.

Keep grinding

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