quick and easy,. rinse the beans, put in a large bowl and cover with water ,add extra because the beans soak up the water, then leave in the frig,overnight,do this part , because they can spoil if left sitting out, [ i know this to be true], next day rinse again, put in large pot, with your ham hock,lots of water, and cook on med. heat, check on them often to see if you need to add anymore water, and simmer 2-3 hrs. then taste to see if you need the salt. i take the ham hocks out and pull it apart to see if there's any meat to put back in the pot, if not ,i might add some ham bits i keep in small bags in the freezer, this is not hard to do, and it's good.!!!! oh, you can parboil the beans too, bring the beans to a boil, turn off heat, let them sit 5 minutes, then rinse and cook as directions above.