Slowly but Surely - Slow-cooked Pork and Beans (Not Baked)

Pork and beans is one the food I know my Dad loves to eat for breakfast. But since we don't make it at home from scratch, we buy canned ones and it is indeed delicious. However, it is not the same anymore and there more sauce than beans and you can't barely taste the pork. I can still remember my Mom would cook sinangag and sunny-side up eggs and heat some pork and beans. It's so good with anything either pandesal or rice. My favorite combination would be bacon, beans and egg. If I buy english muffins, I will toast them, place some crispy bacon on top, ladle some pork and beans and top everything with poached egg. So delicious every single time. 

I tried to make them before when someone gave me a ham as a gift. I was thinking what to make with this aside putting it in a sandwich and I thought I should try to make some pork and beans. My first attempt was perfect. My brothers love them because it does taste like or should I say taste way better than what we used to eat from a can. My second attempt was a fail. I cooked them way too much that it turned into a mushy pork and beans. My third attempt was good but my first will always be the best according to them. I measured my ingredients and I must say, this time it's almost or likely the same taste when I first made them. Texture is perfect and the taste is delicious. 

SPAMsilog + Pork and Beans

As I mentioned before, using your stove to make slow-cooked dishes is not economical here. I used charcoal to cook this dish this time. If you've used charcoal before to cook(braised or tenderize meat) , it will be much cheaper. I actually prefer using charcoal because it is less likely for me to overcook it. The heat is fairly even and the "low and slow" way of cooking it makes even better. You only want it on a gentle simmer. If it's starting to boil, just add few charcoals to lower the heat. Just keep in mind that if you use beans that are not of the same size, some beans might be tender and some might need a little more time to cook.  This happened to me. I bought mine in palengke.  I used the small kind because that will cook much quicker. What I did, after I soaked them, I disregard the ones that are big and the-not-so-good-looking beans.I used the bigger kind before and it took me 4hrs to tenderize it  So, pick the size of your beans and stick to that. If you want, you can boil the beans just to give it a little head start. And finish it with the sauce or whatever dish you are cooking it with. Putting salt is a big NO when cooking beans because  it won't get tender anymore. So season them when they are cooked.

Slow-Cooked Pork and Beans

1lb small white beans

1lb pork shoulder (bacon or ham), chopped

1 large onion, diced

1kg tomato sauce 

3 tbsps. tomato sauce

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 cups water (or more)

1 chicken bouillon cube

*If you are using chicken stock, just replace  2 cups of water with stock

1. Washed beans and soak overnight. The next day, rinsed it well then set aside.

2. In a heavy duty pot, sear chopped pork until golden brown. Add chopped onions then cook until soften. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar and water,chicken cube or stock. Bring it to a boil then add beans. Bring it back to a boil.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your charcoal. Make sure the charcoal is really hot. Add enough charcoal to lower the temperature. Place the griddle over charcoal then place your pot. The temperature might drop at some point so you want to check it from time to time. If it's getting too hot, add more charcoal. You just want it to simmer gently. Stir it occasionally in a folding motion using your spatula. If you think it's getting too thick, just add a splash of water just enough to thin it out. Simmer it for 3 hours or just until the beans are tender. 

Not-so-guilt-free Crispy Pork Belly: How to make non-fried Lechon Kawali

Pork Belly or Liempo in filipino is one of my favorite cut of meat and very common in Filipino cuisine. You can make various dishes from soups to stews and it will turn out delicious. Liempo is the cut of meat while the dish is called Crispy Pork Belly or in Filipino Lechon Kawali because it resembles the taste of lechon or roast pig but cooked on kawali or wok/skillet. 

If you really in for a special kind of lechon kawali, you can visit Ilocos for their mouth-watering crispy pork belly or bagnet in Ilocano. What makes this really special, they double fry it which makes it really crispy. And yes,pork belly +double-fried = crispy skin overload. 

I try to eat the healthiest food as possible, but hey, sometimes I crave for lechon kawali. Why not? But I try to make it myself and avoid buying or eating it in restaurants because I know they deep-fry it (which is delicious) but I will be so guilty while eating it. I tried different methods but cooking it in my turbo broiler gives me the best lechon kawali without the extra fat. Using oven is not economical here in the Philippines but if you don't have a turbo broiler, oven will work just as fine.  Also, I tried the pan-fry method. I sliced the pork belly an inch and a half, put on a cold skillet and just like cooking bacon, I let it render out its fat and it will leave you the crispiest pork belly. 

About choosing your pork belly, go for the bacon part, It has an even layer of fat and meat and will less likely to have bones but if there's any, the bones will just come out easily as long as you cook it until tender but not falling apart. I also used simple aromatics but you can add more vegetables to your boiling water for another layer of flavor. Just think you are making your own pork stock. 

My favorite dipping sauce will be suka na may bawang (vinegar with garlic) or lechon sauce (Mang Tomas).

I forgot to make little incisions across.This will help the chopping easier and the edges will be crispier.


CRISPY PORK BELLY

1whole pork belly (1kg or 2.2lbs)
5 dry bay leaves
6 whole peppercorns
3tbsps. kosher salt
pepper to taste




1. In a pot of boiling water, add bay leaves, whole peppercorns,salt and pork. Do not cut the pork in half, instead use a big pot to cook the entire pork. It won"t shrink that much when you cook it in the turbo broiler or oven. Flip it over to cook the other side. You know it is tender enough when you insert a knife and it just comes out easily.

2. Once the pork is cooked,let it cool until it's cool enough to handle. Pre-heat your broiler/oven to 450F. Poke the skin with a fork to release pork fat. Make little incisions across maybe an inch apart. Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper. If you are using your broiler, make sure it's skin side up and if it's too big, just cut in half or do it in batches. 

3. When the skin is nice and crispy, flip it over for an even crispiness. Flip it on the left and right side until all sides are crispy. Not all broilers are the same. Some will take longer or less cooking time.Let it cool but not too long just cool enough to chop it. Do not cover the pork while resting because it will create steam and make the pork soggy.


You can deep fry the pork just make sure that you let it cool completely and pat it dry really well.