My Southern grandpa loved his pig's feet and pig's knuckles. And, he always had hamhocks ready to make a mess o' beans. Of course, he grew those beans himself. I loathe pig's feet and knuckles. He'd even pick the meat out of the hamhocks from the beans – hated that too.

But, I do wish I could get those beans. When I was young, he and Gran still grew speckled brown lima beans, string beans, and blackeyed peas in their garden patch. They kept a couple of pigs too. Every year, they'd slaughter the yearling pigs, make their own hams and sausage, and put away chops and tenderloin for roasts, plus shoulder and porkbutt for pulled pork in NC BBQ. Gran made the best sausage – nothing like the stuff you get in the grocery store that leaves behind more grease than you end up with in cooked sausage.