Anasazi Beans with Shredded Pork

This is really just a bean recipe. I mean, not just a bean recipe but a really good bean recipe.

I most recently ate them in burrito bowl form, and it's something I highly recommend. Beans on top of rice, covered with cheese, pickled onions, sour cream, jalapenos, lime juice, cilantro, and hot sauce. But you do you.

Anasazi beans are splotched white and red/brown when dry and look very cow-like, but change to a uniform brown once cooked.

I like this type of bean because they cook to a very soft consistency while maintaining their whole form without skins bursting and beans falling apart.

This is a trait that's particularly appealing since I live at a high altitude. Here, it can be challenging to get your beans completely tender without using a pressure cooker or turning them to mush.

You can substitute just about any other dry bean in this recipe, just keep checking the doneness of your beans, as the cooking time will vary depending on the bean and where in the world you happen to be cooking.

And if you forgot or don't have time to soak your beans, don't fret! They might take a little longer to cook and you may need to add a little more liquid in the home stretch, but they'll get there, and none will be the wiser.

Recipe Notes:
*feel free to omit the pork altogether if you're not into that sort of thing, the rest of the recipe can be left as is.

*if you have the forethought and time, these beans will be better the day after or even just a couple of hours after cooking as they will absorb the flavorful cooking liquid.

*some good old-fashioned skimming content: Don't forget the importance of a good skim when you're making a soup/stock/braise. It is particularly important if you are dealing with meat or beans, as they will produce more scum that you will want to skim. A good rig for skimming is a container with enough water to submerge a ladle. This way your ladle gets rinsed off while the scum rises to the surface of the water.

Anasazi Beans with Shredded Pork

2T                                Oil (neutral, high-heat)
1#                                Pork Shoulder
1ea                              Yellow Onion, med dice
3ea                              Garlic Cloves, minced
3ea                              New Mex Dry Chili, stem/seeds removed
3ea                              Bay Leaves
2t                                 Cumin, ground
1t                                 Mex Oregano, ground
1#                                Dry Beans, soaked overnight
8c                                Water
TT                               Salt

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Brown pork on all sides, remove.
3. Saute onions in the remaining fat until lightly browned.
4. Add garlic, chilis, and bay, and saute for 1min.
5. Add cumin and oregano and saute 30 sec.
6. Add soaked beans to deglaze.
7. Add water.
8. Cover with lid ajar and simmer for 2 hours, skimming occasionally.
9. Check beans for doneness and season with salt. Continue to cook beans to desired texture. Mine took 3hrs.
10. Taste and adjust seasoning.