First, wash green beans and dice the onions and garlic.

Second, fill a stock pot or Dutch oven with 2 quarts of water. To have the most vibrant green beans, you need to put 2 quarts (8 cups) of water into a large stock pot with ¼ cup of salt. Then, bring salted water to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, add green beans. Boil green beans for 7 minutes.

Use the time while the water is coming to a boil, and then the green beans boil for 7 minutes to cook the bacon. You can leave the bacon whole while cooking it and then cut it into smaller pieces later. Or you can cut the bacon first and then fry it in small pieces. (I find it easier to cook the bacon whole and cut the bacon when it is done and crispy. Also, it takes longer to remove the bacon from the pan in small pieces.)

Once the bacon is cooked remove the bacon from the pan. Remove all but 2 tbsp of bacon drippings and add in one finely diced onion. Lightly salt the onion and add ¼ cup of water to deglaze the bacon fond. (Fond is the brown bits on the pan that hold a lot of flavor.) Use a wooden spoon to release the fond and mix it into the water.

Continue to boil off all the water and cook the onions. The water does two things: one it releases the fond and two it helps the onions to cook and caramelize much faster.

Once the onions are almost done cooking, add three cloves of minced garlic. Continue to saute making sure to not burn the garlic.

Once the green beans have cooked for 7 minutes (no longer than 7 minutes - error on less time than longer), remove the green beans from the boiling water. I like to use a spider or tongs to remove the green beans from the boiling water and add them directly into the sauté pan.

Next, toss the green beans with the onions, garlic, and chopped bacon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, place on a serving platter and enjoy!