In the foreground: A bowl of pork scattered with limas. In back: A bowl of limas in gravy. Not shown: Bowl of rice and empty bowl for bone disposal.
A Lowcountry lima bean supper has a drab name but can be a thrill to eat. As made and served in soul food restaurants in and around Charleston, South Carolina, it is an awe-inspiring presentation that, although built around beans and listed on the menu as such, includes a meal’s worth of pork, often in the form of neck bones and pig tails. The meat on neck bones is tender enough that little effort is required to slide off bite-size pieces with minimal fork pressure; pig tails are as unctuous as sizzled fatback. A full lima bean supper arrives in at least two separate bowls: one full of soupy beans, themselves porkily spiced, the other heaped with brick-red meat decorated with a handful of beans. A third bowl might contain rice, and a fourth empty one can be used for bone disposal.