Pork Stew With Black Beans
- Total Time
- 2 hours 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups dried black beans
- 1teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 2bay leaves
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon whole cumin seed
- 6jalapeño peppers, seeded and deveined
- 4cloves garlic, peeled
- 2onions, cut into rough chunks
- 2tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 4tablespoons sweet paprika, preferably Spanish or Hungarian
- 4tablespoons cornmeal
- 4tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 4tablespoons honey
- 2teaspoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons cinnamon
- Cooked rice for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
749 calories; 39 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 411 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Wash and drain the beans several times. Place in a large pot with 8 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and the bay leaves, oregano, pepper and cumin seed. Cover, but keep the lid slightly ajar, and boil until tender, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed to keep the beans covered. Drain beans and reserve cooking liquid.
- Step 2
Pulse the jalapeños and garlic in a food processor, add the onions and pulse again. Remove and set aside.
- Step 3
Add the cayenne, paprika and cornmeal to the food processor. While processing, pour in about 1 cup cooking liquid from the beans to make a smooth paste.
- Step 4
Heat the oil in a heavy 6-quart pot. Brown the pork cubes in 4 to 5 batches over medium-high heat, removing them as they brown. When the last batch is browned, add the other pork cubes and their juices and the honey, cumin and cinnamon. Stir to scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Step 5
Lower the heat and add the onion mixture. Cook, stirring, until heated through, then add the cornmeal paste and 4 cups bean cooking liquid (if there is not enough, add some water) and stir. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from sticking. Add the beans and salt to taste, stir and simmer another 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
Private Notes
Comments
This is quite tasty. Needs more salt. Cannot believe people use two TABLESPOONS of cayenne!! I reduced it to one teaspoon and I can just tolerate it!
Great start recipe for my tinkering. Keeper. Notes: a) Trim pork of fat carefully for chili braise like this & then no fat to skim as some describe. b) Soak beans overnight. Red beans work here too. c) Love spicy but 6 jalapeno & 2T cayenne too much. Prefer 2 jalapeno & 1 1/2 T New Mexico chili powder + 1/4 tsp cayenne. Reduced cinnamon to 1/4- 1/2 tsp. e) Simmered pork Step 5 for 1 hr B4 adding beans = very tender outcome. Beans 15 min more to blend flavor. f) Freezes well.
You really only need a pinch of cinnamon in this dish. It is there to take the acid out of the chile mixture. And, one more note from us New Mexicans: Cayenne should NEVER be mixed with jalapeno. Like any spice you need to pay attention to what mixes and what doesn't! The same goes for chiles. Yes! It is spelled chile not chili. Like I said, go for the chile flavor not the heat of the chile, so use the mild chiles in this recipe. Checkout the "Best of New Mexico Kitchens" cookbook too!
Super spicy! (But delicious…) Hoping it tames a little for tomorrow and beyond.
My wife has a sensitive palette and enjoys a small amount of heat in her food, but not overwhelming heat. As others have pointed out, the amount of cayenne called for in the recipe seems a bit overboard and I agree. For the reasons already mentioned, I cut way back on the spices and I was rewarded with a comfortably warming dish that bordered on being classy. As we ate our second helpings, we mused on how to make it even more delicious.
Original appears without changes in Huntley Dent's "Feast of Santa Fe" cookbook (available from "The Santa Fe School of Cooking" or used various online sellers. Stick with the original recipe. Skip the cayenne and use serious New Mexico chile like Nambi or Chimayon heirloom. No reason at all to make it hot, use the mild chile. You want the flavor not heat. If you drain the bean broth with the cornmeal and red chile you can use that for some very good carne adovada. I'm a native New Mexican!
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