These beans really aren’t that hot so don’t write it off yet. Just seemed like a better title than “Beans.”
I didn’t grow up eating beans prepared this way. To me beans came from a can with whatever that weird sauce is. We used them to make beans and wieners or baked beans for picnics and they weren’t half bad. But I lived in the South for several years where ham and beans with cornbread and red beans and rice are revered and I learned to love the real deal.
This is my version of straight up Southern beans (ironically made from great northern beans). I veer slightly from what I know of traditional recipes since I didn’t include a ham hock. I included some rendered pork fat from a pork shoulder I was cooking when I made this batch of beans which added a ton of flavor. You could substitute a little bacon fat or a piece of smoked ham. If you use one of these I’d skip the salt until you give it a taste. You could also easily make this vegetarian by using vegetable stock rather than chicken stock and skipping the pork fat altogether. I would add a roasted or dried chile to get some smokey flavor and a little olive oil for some fat.
Ingredients:
16 oz. dry great northern white beans
1 Tbs. rendered pork fat
4 cups chicken stock
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro
1/2 yellow onion, diced
Soak dry beans in water overnight. Put all ingredients with the exception of the onion into a pan. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally for at least 3 hours. Stir in the chopped onion 20-30 minutes before serving.