1

Drain the beans and put them in a pot with the broth, bouquet garni, ham or hocks, salt, bacon, onion, and garlic and simmer, covered, until the beans are soft, about 2 hours. Add the sherry as soon as the beans begin to soften. Keep adding liquid as needed to keep the beans covered. Take the ham bone, hocks, and bacon out of the soup and pull the ham away from the bone, chop or shred into bite-size pieces, and put it back in the soup. Pull the rind away from the ham hocks and discard rind. Pull the meat away and add it to the soup. Slice the bacon into 8 slices. If you like, puree the soup for a moment with an immersion blender to give it a little richer consistency. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and place a slice of bacon on top of each one. Pass the Tabasco and sour cream at the table.