Pork Smoky pork and beans

Published on August 9th, 2015 | by Gareth

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Smoky pork and beans

Flicking through Humble Crumble’s posts for the last few months, I noticed a distinct skew towards desserts, some people love the cake. Which is fine, but I am more of a savoury chap, so I felt the need to bring a bit of balance back. More importantly, a crowd of us were getting together to watch a game of rugby (plus celebrate a pals birthday) and I needed to take a plate. In my mind canneles or butterfly cakes, weren’t going to cut it. I wanted something to suit the occasion, something hearty and meaty. We were watching a game of sport after all #meatfest

Cue slow cooked smoky pork and beans, which is incredibly similar to a French cassoulet. Not surprising though, given the base recipe came from New Orleans, courtesy of AL Brown’s book Stoked. As I couldn’t find smoked sausage, (required in the original recipe), I used Chorizo and a teaspoon of smoked, hot paprika. The result was fantastic, the sauce was spicy, rich and thick and with each fork full, I was rewarded with a piece of ham or Chorizo. One of my favourite dishes I’ve made so far this year. Perfect for the rugby – even though my team lost.

Serve with rice, or crusty bread (probably should have some veggies too), it’s the time of thing, I can imagine someone in the deep south enjoying with corn bread and a glass of Bourbon. Or is that too cliche?

Although it takes a while to cook, it’s easy peasy lemon squeeze to make! One tip though; don’t add salt until you’ve tasted though as you’ll get plenty of salt from the ham hock.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2hrs
Equipment: 1 large heavy stockpot

Ingredients

  • 3-4 red onions – diced
  • 4 sticks celery – diced
  • 1 green capsicum – deseeded and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic – finely sliced
  • 2 chorizo – diced
  • 1 medium sized smoked ham hock (approx. 800g-1kg)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. hot, smoked paprika
  • 3 x 400g tins red kidney beans (or if you have time to soak over night, 500g dried and kidney beans)
  • 2ltrs. water
  • Leaves from a bunch of fresh thyme
  • Directions

  • Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to heat in the stockpot, then add the onions, garlic, celery and green pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes over a low heat
  • Chopped chorizo and veg for pork and beans

    Cooking pork and beans

  • Increase the heat and add the diced chorizo and cook until lightly browned, (about 5 minutes)
  • Add the herbs, smoked ham hock and water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer
  • Simmer for 30 minutes, then add the beans
  • Allow to cook over a low heat for a further 1 ½-2hours until the meat on the ham hock falls off
  • Discard the ham bone, skin and the bay leaves. Break the meat up into small pieces
  • If the stew has too much liquid, either reduce further by simmering for another 20 minutes or add 1 teaspoon of corn flour to thicken the sauce
  • Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and serve
  • Smokey pork and beans in a bowl

    Smokey pork and beans in a bowl aerial


    About the Author

    Englishman in Sydney loves a whisky, pies and all things savoury. Digital Marketer by day, cook the rest of the time. Amateur writer, photographer & aspiring anthropologists.



    One Response to Smoky pork and beans

    1. This sounds lovely and really tasty. Thank you for sharing this.

      Simon

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