Pork and Beans

When I was restocking my pantry, I noticed that the can of pulled pork (in water) I’d bought to try it out had a small dent in it. I figured I should go on ahead and get it used up, but I wasn’t really feeling pork. Like, at all. Accordingly, I figured if I did a pork and beans dish, I could just eat around that and give my pork eaters whatever meat was in my bowl when I was done eating. They got really excited about that, because they’re highly carnivorous folk.

This is not like the pork and beans types we normally get in America, because I wanted something lighter. My focus here really was on the beans and the veggies going in the mix, and I figured that was the best option since I was experimenting with the canned stuff. You really never know how that’s gonna go, so the dish needed to be able to stand on its own without it. It did, but the meat was also good. I ate a couple of bites before donating the rest of mine, and I was surprised to learn it’s not some scary can of Deviled whatever, but rather actual meat with texture in there. More like canned tuna or chicken than spreads.

Although I made rather a lot of this, there were almost no leftovers, and they’ve asked that I make this more often.

Here’s what you’ll need

1 pound of great northern beans, cooked according to package directions

2-3 tablespoons of lard, butter, or oil. I used lard, but olive oil would have been lovely here

1 diced celery stalk

1 diced shisito (or other pepper)

1/4 bell pepper (any color), diced

1/2 carrot, diced

1/4 large red onion, finely diced

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 cup white wine

1 can of stewed tomatoes, cut up a bit

1 10-ounce can of pulled pork in water, not in sauce, 10 ounces of other pulled pork, 10 ounces of other meat you have and want to use, or 10 ounces of nothing at all - if you’re using canned meat, you won’t drain the can before you put it in. If you’re not using canned meat, you can choose if you want to toss in a couple tablespoons of water when you add your meat (or don’t add meat, as you prefer)

1 tablespoon cowboy candy or 1 small chile minced or thinly sliced and a teaspoon-ish of sugar

1 large handful dandelion leaves (optional, but you can really use any green here)

Here’s what you’ll do

Put your lard in a large pot or smaller Dutch oven (I used the DO) and heat to medium. Add all your veggies and spices and fry them up for a while. Once they’re softened with some browning, hit them with that wine and stir well to get the fond off the bottom.

Once the fond is in there, toss in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. This is good with rice, quinoa, or basically any whole grain/seed.