• Wash and sort the beans, picking out any off looking ones. Place them in a large pot, cover with 48 ounces of water, bring to a boil for two minutes, remove from heat, and let them sit for at least an hour. Drain the water and set the beans aside.
• While the beans are soaking, dice the onion, celery, and carrots and mince the garlic and rosemary.
• After the beans have finished soaking, sauté the onion and celery for a couple of minutes in a little olive oil. Add the rosemary and garlic and continue sautéing for another couple of minutes.
• Add the stock, beans, bay leafs, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring everything to a boil for a minute or two, then turn the heat down to a simmer and add the chicken. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged in the liquid. Let the stew simmer for an hour to cook the chicken.
• After an hour take the chicken out and let it cool enough to shred it. If you're using thighs or legs add the bones back to the pot.
• Add the shredded chicken and carrots to the pot and bring the stew back to a boil for a minute or so, then turn the heat back to a simmer and cook the stew for another hour or so.
• Serve with warm crusty bread or biscuits.

Optional Step

• If you want to add some extra crunch and flavor, set the chicken skins aside when you're shredding the chicken and right before serving the stew place them on a broiler pan in a 350℉ oven for 6 to 10 minutes, turning them once. One the skin has crisped up, finely chop it and sprinkle it over the top of the stew.