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1
Pierce each mature green bean through its widest point with the darning needle and thread it onto the heavy thread, leaving a small gap between each bean so that air circulates freely around every one. Tie the completed garlands to ceiling hooks, porch rafters, or a drying rack in a warm, dry, and well-ventilated place — a covered porch in late summer is the traditional location. Hang for 2–3 weeks. The beans are ready when they are pale, shrunken to a fraction of their fresh size, and completely brittle with no flex or give. Any residual moisture will cause mould in storage.
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2
Remove the dried beans from the string and place them in a large bowl. Cover generously with cold water and soak overnight. The beans will swell to roughly twice their dried size by morning. Drain.
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3
Place the soaked, drained beans in a pot with the smoked ham hock or salt pork and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer. This is where the dish lives or dies: maintain a low, steady simmer — not a rolling boil — for 2–3 hours, adding water as needed to keep the beans submerged, until the beans are fully tender with a pleasantly chewy, almost meaty texture and the broth is deeply flavoured with smoke and concentrated green-bean savour. The pork provides the flavour that elevates the rehydrated beans from merely interesting to extraordinary; do not rush this stage.