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.