I heart blackbeans

50% of my food storage looks like this:

 

And I truly believe my family could happily subsist on the possibilities therein.  Jim has always made phenomenal blackbeans.  But the boy is a flavor master rather than recipe follower.  He works by taste...something I definitely lack the buds to accomplish.  And I'm the main cook around the house, so I've tried a few black bean recipes over the years.  This one is my current favorite.

 

Cuban Black Beans

The cast of characters:
(Doing this Pioneer Woman style {without claiming to even approach her style, that is}!)

 

bacon, onions, red bell pepper, cumin, salt, garlic cloves, fresh oregano, black beans, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, baking soda, chorizo sausage, fresh cilantro 

 
a few pre-cooking tips: 

 

* when you make black beans of any kind, add a pinch of baking soda.  Its alkalinity will allow the beans to keep their lovely black rather than turning to a reddish grey or purple.  Acidity causes th color to turn. 

 

*  As for the chorizo, there are a few different kinds.  I've never found the Spanish style chorizo that the recipe actually calls for.  It's a type that is already cooked.  But I've substituted with two other kinds.  The type in this picture was definitely my least favorite.  I much prefered the flavors of the kind I bought not packaged in sausage casings (it was more like how you buy ground beef).   
 
*  Make good rice to serve under your beans!  Call me a rice snob, blame it on my Asian roots, but the cannery's rice is simply not acceptable.

First, adjust your oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.

Finely chop 2 oz. bacon (2 slices).  Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.  

Chop 2 onions and 1 red bell pepper.  Add these to the bacon, along with 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon salt.  Continue to cook until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. 

Add 6 garlic clove, minced. 

Also add 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano.  Stir and cook until garlic and oregano are fragrant, about 15 seconds.   

Stir in  6 cups of water, scraping up the browned bits. 

Stir in 2 cups of dried black beans (picked over & rinsed), 2 bay leaves, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.  Bring to a boil. 

Cover and transfer to the oven.  I put a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil between the pan and lid as extra sealing insurance. 

Bake, stirring every 30 minutes, until beans are tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours (the recipe calls for less, but it always takes this long for mine...I'm going to try pre-soaking the beans next time).  

Now, this is the part where I failed on the pictures {how does that Pioneer Woman do it??!).  When the beans seem tender, remove the lid and stir in 1/2 lb. chorizo sausage (brown on stovetop beforehand if you could not find Spanish chorizo; if you found Spanish, quarter it lengthwise and slice 1/2 inch thick).  Continue to bake, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves.  Let the beans sit for 10 minutes.  

Stir in cilantro (yum!) and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over {good} rice.

My bowl of goodness {pre- sour cream dollop, that is}. 

For extra punch, try this flavored sour cream:   

        1 cup sour cream
        1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro  
        1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice
        1 garlic clove, minced
        salt and pepper to taste 

We're table eaters in this family.  BUT...this is one meal I prefer to enjoy curled up on the couch for ultimate comfort.  And, even my no-leftovers leanings will sway for this because it's one of those dinners that truly tastes even better on the second day. 

Comments

[Mandi]

Fabulous - I love all the step-by-step and the pics. I must say to anyone reading this post that you made this for us for dinner last week (hence the pictures probably) and it was phenomenal - we loved it! Definitely a good comfort food. And I must agree with yours views on the rice from the cannery.

[Kay]

My mouth is watering! It's lunch time at the office and I just looked at this post. Definitely going to try this.

[Nina]

Amy, what is good rice? Do you have a favorite kind I do NOT have a rice cooker.... Let me know.

[Amy]

I don't use a rice cooker, either, Nina. Sticky type, shorter grained rices are my favorites - Calrose, Botan. Basmati is a long grain though (Indian, I think), but one of my all-time favorites as well. I suppose the stick-together factor is what's important to me. Far better flavor. I usually just buy rice in the Asian food section of the grocery store.

[Kelly]

You don't use a rice cooker? I haven't a clue how to do it without. Zojurishi all the way, baby! Thanks for this recipe. I can still taste Jim's black beans from when you visited a few years ago. So good! Maybe I can adapt this recipe to my new vegetarian sensibilities. And, I agree, cannery rice -- no good!

[April]

I had to laugh at the rice comment...I still think of you two whenever I buy rice...we are a Botan family here, thanks to you. (A HUNDRED THINGS CAN CHANGED YOUR LIFE...ah, yes.)

[April]

P.S. Thanks for the Pioneer Woman link...I've never been there before and I love it!

[Kelly]

Sorry, make that Zojirushi. That was kind of like Mr. Roniti.

[Megan]

I don't know what to write. I've written and erased about five different comments. Beans....I don't need to say more.

[lelly]

oh my...yum oh

[Mandy]

that recipe sounds great even though I have never, yes never, had black beans before. Thanks for the recipe!

[Tiffany]

This looks amazing. My first thought was--what a lot of work! I must be the kind of person they make those 4 ingredient recipe books for (actually I've never read one of those books!). I guess I'm more of a baker than a cooker (whatever you call it!).

You must have inherited some of your mom's good cooking genes! I remember you telling us how she was such a good cook. I had some of her lasagne at a Japanese family dinner one time--I still remember how good it was.

[Elizabeth]

This looks so good. I could survive on black beans also. We eat them 3 nights a week at least as it is. I will have to try this vegetarian style thoguh as I recently reconverted back to my old ways.

[eloise]

Amy just wanted to say your blog is always uplifting and keeps us all on our toes. Just wanted to tell you I think your awesome. Eloise

[jenny c.]

Holy cow, that looks scrumptious. I am also a big black bean lover. Thanks for the recipe!! You can bet I will be trying them.

[Sheri]

I love black beans- but I am afraid I would never be ambitious enough to try this recipe. It looks terrific though. I guess I shouldn't admit to the fact that I use minute rice. You are probablay cringing at that. You have enticed me to try the rice in the Asian isle.

[Barb]

Arizona woman cooks!!! I am giving this one a try - I love my dried beans, this will be fun.

[Barb]

I finally made these today, and I broke a personal rule doing it. I always make a new recipe exactly as outlined, and if I want to 'play' I save that for the second time around. But when was I ever going to be home to stir every 1/2 hour for 3 or more hours? So I went straight to the crock pot. Of course, I dont' know how the meal is supposed to turn out, but I thought the crockpot version was wonderful. Same quantities of water, all day on low. Mmm, mmm.
(did you know this recipe is not on your food blog?)