1. Place ham hocks in crock pot or stock pot, cover with water. Cook until tender (high or medium, depending on your schedule. I don’t think you can overcook ham hocks but you need a certain amount of liquid).

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening to resemble meal as for a pie crust. Add water gradually, pressing with a fork. After the 6th tablespoon, use your hands to work the dough into a smooth ball, adding remaining water. It’s not meant to be pie dough exactly, but uses the same ingredients. You can do this ahead and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for several hours.

3. Remove ham hocks from crock pot. Pour remaining liquid in a large pot on the stove. Add the beans. Bring to boil, reduce to high simmer.

4. Divide the dough in two balls. Roll out as thinly as possible (~1/16″), folding dough over on itself at least once. Cut in diamonds or rectangles. Drop into pot. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes until dough is cooked through; longer for thicker pie.

Beans and pot pie is NOT meant to be eaten as a soup, so serve it with a slotted spoon. Ketchup and pepper are popular dressings for it. They usually serve the ham hocks on the side. This is where the ham hock meat would be better than the ham hocks because you can get more meat, but if you’re just feeding 2 or 1, a few ham hocks is more than enough. If using fresh ham hocks instead of smoked, you may need to dilute the water a bit because it tends to get very gelatinous.