Thing Thirty-Six: Beans
Jun. 4th, 2013 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badseed1980Beans are problematic. On the one hand, they're really good for you: full of fiber and protein. They also lend themselves well to any number of delicious preparations, and make a good main dish ingredient for a vegetarian meal. On the other, well...they aren't exactly easy on the digestion, especially if you're in polite company. Still, because of the good stuff, I find it hard to resist having beans every now and then. Last night was the first time I ever made them as a side dish.
My fiancé and I had been considering going to Redbones, our local phenomenal barbecue joint, for a pig pull last night. Unfortunately, we got mixed up: it wasn't a pig pull they were doing last night, but a bike party, which only included their basic barbecue sandwiches as food. While their sandwiches were good, they weren't the same kind of "it's worth it even though it's bad for you" that a big ol' roast pig with all the trimmings would have been. When they do their pig pull--presumably later this summer--I will probably be willing to blow the healthy eating for that!
Now, since both of us had been looking forward to barbecue, I decided to make a healthy Redbones-inspired meal for dinner last night. I cooked up some lean pork chops with my fiancé's rib rub on them in the grill pan, simmered some collard greens with lean bacon and cider vinegar, and I made these beans.
The beans also started with bacon. Bacon and beans are, if you don't know it already, a match made in heaven. The smoky, salty flavor of the bacon and its luscious fat make the beans deeply flavorful and unctuous. I use center-cut bacon, which has less fat, but still enough to make the beans amazing. I chopped up a couple of slices, and cooked it in the bottom of a saucepan over medium-low heat. When most of the fat had rendered out, I added some diced onions and minced garlic. I let those cook in the bacon fat, getting luscious and soft and sweet. When they reached a nice state of translucency and tenderness, I added a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans, a chopped tomato, some cumin, a touch of chipotle (more for the smoke of it than the heat), and just a little water to bring it all together. I let them simmer, covered, until the tomatoes cooked down, and the liquid in the pot was thick and rich. The result? They were creamy in texture, and really richly flavored. These beans would be a great side dish for any barbecue, or to go with Tex-Mex style food, or even just plain over rice. Need to make them vegetarian? Don't use that horrendous soy bacon, for the love of all that is smoky and good. Add a little smoked salt instead. Just make sure you use low-sodium beans if adding salt, or they'll be too salty.
My fiancé and I had been considering going to Redbones, our local phenomenal barbecue joint, for a pig pull last night. Unfortunately, we got mixed up: it wasn't a pig pull they were doing last night, but a bike party, which only included their basic barbecue sandwiches as food. While their sandwiches were good, they weren't the same kind of "it's worth it even though it's bad for you" that a big ol' roast pig with all the trimmings would have been. When they do their pig pull--presumably later this summer--I will probably be willing to blow the healthy eating for that!
Now, since both of us had been looking forward to barbecue, I decided to make a healthy Redbones-inspired meal for dinner last night. I cooked up some lean pork chops with my fiancé's rib rub on them in the grill pan, simmered some collard greens with lean bacon and cider vinegar, and I made these beans.
The beans also started with bacon. Bacon and beans are, if you don't know it already, a match made in heaven. The smoky, salty flavor of the bacon and its luscious fat make the beans deeply flavorful and unctuous. I use center-cut bacon, which has less fat, but still enough to make the beans amazing. I chopped up a couple of slices, and cooked it in the bottom of a saucepan over medium-low heat. When most of the fat had rendered out, I added some diced onions and minced garlic. I let those cook in the bacon fat, getting luscious and soft and sweet. When they reached a nice state of translucency and tenderness, I added a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans, a chopped tomato, some cumin, a touch of chipotle (more for the smoke of it than the heat), and just a little water to bring it all together. I let them simmer, covered, until the tomatoes cooked down, and the liquid in the pot was thick and rich. The result? They were creamy in texture, and really richly flavored. These beans would be a great side dish for any barbecue, or to go with Tex-Mex style food, or even just plain over rice. Need to make them vegetarian? Don't use that horrendous soy bacon, for the love of all that is smoky and good. Add a little smoked salt instead. Just make sure you use low-sodium beans if adding salt, or they'll be too salty.
