I can never leave McDaniel’s QN2 without taking home a quart of their green beans. They remind me so much of the green beans my grandmother used to make. They are a taste of the South and truly melt in your mouth. I never got my grandmother’s recipe so I would love to know how they make them.
— Alice Nesbit, Sandy Springs
There may be a reason these green beans will remind diners of their grandmother’s cooking. That’s because brothers Glenn and Andy McDaniel, owners of McDaniel’s QN2, are reproducing their grandmother’s recipe, canned Italian cut green beans and all. These beans have been on the menu since the restaurant opened 22 years ago.
The green beans are so popular their kitchen prepares 8 quarts almost every day and offer it in 1/2 cup servings as one of the more than a dozen side dishes on the menu. We’ve scaled down the restaurant’s big recipe.
In our photo, the green beans are shown with smoked chicken, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, pickles and a cornbread muffin.
McDaniel’s QN2′s Green Beans
2 (28-ounce) cans unseasoned Italian cut green beans, drained
1 small smoked ham hock
1 small sweet or yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Morton’s kosher salt
In a Dutch oven, combine green beans, ham hock, onion and salt. Add cold water to cover the ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook uncovered until the meat is falling off the bone, about 3 hours. Check periodically to make sure liquid still covers the ingredients. Remove ham hock from beans and pull off meat, discarding bone and gristle. Break meat into small pieces and return to the pot. When serving, drain the beans and meat from the cooking liquid. Cooking liquid can be discarded after serving the beans and meat.
Makes 7 cups.
Per 1/2-cup serving: 33 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 2 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 1 gram total fat (trace saturated), 3 milligrams cholesterol, 381 milligrams sodium.
From the menu of ... McDaniel’s QN2 BBQ, 200 Johnson Ferry Road, Sandy Springs; 404-252-3220, mcdanielsqn2.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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