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a smokin' recipe for pork 'n' beans

3/9/2012

25 Comments

 
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I was sorting through my kitchen cupboards on Saturday morning and came across a bottle of pomegrante molasses which I'd bought, originally, to use for a recipe that I'd never got around to making. In the adjacent cupboard was a jar of haricot beans, and seeing the two in quick succession made me think longingly of a deep bowl of gloriously rich baked beans. After a further check, I found I already had all the ingredients needed for the recipe below excepting the pork - I love it when that happens.

Of course pomegranate molasses isn't the same thing as molasses at all, but its tartness works really well in this marriage of sweet and sour.

It is not for me to use such terms as 'genius' to describe the inclusion of jerk barbecue sauce in this dish - that is what the comments section is for - but it combines with the triple smoked pork belly to give the beans a wonderfully gutsy bonfire night flavour.
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Speaking of the pork belly, I found it in Harte's on Rye Lane, where they call it triple smoked gammon; but gammon, to me, means joints or steaks. This was definitely belly; if I was them I'd market it as 'Irish Pancetta'. It cost £5.99/kg.

You could, of course, use smoked bacon for this or even splash out on some actual pancetta (and for a really cheap dish, Asda sell what they term 'Smoked Bacon Cooking Pieces' for £1.48/kg), but none, I'll wager, will impart quite so much depth and complexity .

recipe

serves 4
200g dried haricot beans
a splash of groundnut oil
600g-700g triple-smoked pork belly
1 large or 2 medium onions, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed
200g tinned tomatoes (half a tin, including juice), mashed up
2 tbsps muscavado sugar
2 tbsps jerk barbecue sauce
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
200ml water, plus more water to cover in casserole
black pepper


Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight.

Drain the beans. Remove the skin from the gammon, lay at the bottom of a casserole dish and tip the beans on top. Cut the gammon into chunks, place in a large frying pan and heat slowly to allow any moisture to seep out. Tip the gammon chunks into a sieve to drain. Wipe the frying pan, increase the heat to fairly high, add a splash of oil and fry the gammon until nicely browned.
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Transfer the meat to the casserole and add the onions and garlic to the frying pan, reducing the heat. When the onions have softened, add them to the pork and beans.

Now throw the tomatoes and juice into the frying pan. Stir, scraping up all the crusty bits from the base of the pan. Add the sugar, barbecue sauce, molasses, mustard, vinegar and 200ml of water and stir. Pour over the pork and onions in the casserole. Top up with more water until everything is just covered.

Put the casserole into a 160C/140c fan oven for approx 4 ½ hours. Check liquid level after 2 hours and then every hour after that, topping up with more water as necessary; after 3 hours, remove the gammon skin and discard.

At the end of the 4 ½ hours, the beans should be squidgily soft and the sauce should be nice and thick. Season with black pepper - it won't need any salt (and for this reason do not be tempted to replace the water with stock made from a stock cube).

Serve with crusty bread and a plain, green salad.
25 Comments
meemalee link
3/9/2012 03:33:39

That smoked pork belly looks INCREDIBLE.

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The Skint Foodie
3/9/2012 09:47:34

It worked really well in this, so much smokiness!

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Alex
3/9/2012 04:05:56

You, Sir, are an artist! What an ingenious way to clear the cupboard and create a sumptious dish at the same time! I think I might create a rip-off version of that one weekend. Looks like a proper winter warmer.

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The Skint Foodie
3/9/2012 09:48:31

Do - it's a real rib-sticker of a dish.

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grainne
3/9/2012 07:28:56

I feel like a total ignoramus? Wwhat is triple smoked pork? And why is itn't it called ham? and why Irish pancetta?

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grainne
3/9/2012 07:30:09

sorry i mean why isn't it called bacon (not ham)

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The Skint Foodie
3/9/2012 10:00:58

The easy one first - Irish pancetta because Harte's are 'The Irish Meat Market' (although I couldn't swear the meat was from Ireland).

Some bacon is from the belly, some isn't (back). But I wouldn't call this bacon as such. Gammon is the hind leg cut from a side of bacon after curing, so the butchers could (I'm guessing here) be using 'gammon' to mean a type of stewing bacon as opposed to the bacon you'd slice and grill/fry. I called it pork belly (which it definitely is) as its not a cut/cure that you'd slice and fry. My brain hurts.

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Chas
3/9/2012 11:09:20

I can't believe nobody has yet mentioned what a genius idea the addition of pomegrante molasses is.

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sarah
3/9/2012 12:01:38

Genius indeed... they serve a version of these beans at PittCue in town and I adore them. Definitely making my own for prestige as well as pecuniary reasons! Proper comfort food...

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Oonagh
3/9/2012 20:22:54

What a combo...pork belly, pomegranate molasses, beans...my mouth is watering and I am prostrate at your feet muttering "we are not worthy..."!

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Tom
4/9/2012 05:52:13

Sticky goodness of the highest order. Would be awesome with some ribs.

Yours is the best website I have found in ages, cheers.

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grainne
4/9/2012 09:42:35

@skintfoodie not sure i do agree with you on the gammon bit - here in Ireland 'I think' a gammon steak is just a very thick rasher that's served for dinner not breakfast and with spuds and a slice of pineapple (ok it was in the 70s). I think they meant it to indicate that it was for dinner not a fry up. I can't for the life of me remember how the gammon steaks were cooked!
Also don't forget bacon ribs - I've written to the guardian's 'we like to eat' about these but they haven't published me (I desperate to be published in this section - my sister was!).
No to my mind if its cured it is bacon, if it is cured and comes from the leg it is ham.

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The Skint Foodie
4/9/2012 09:55:38

Ha! So 'total ignoramus' was a cunning ploy to disguise your very definite views re gammon and ham!

Here's a butcher from Co. Tipperary on the subject. Let's let him have the last word: http://www.jameswhelanbutchers.com/info/meat-information/bacon-cuts/

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grainne
4/9/2012 10:05:12

I was a total ignoramus - gammon is from the hind leg and I thought it just meant fat rasher! ha ha.
and what is triple cured? wet then dried or smoked three times? (if the latter why not just leave it in for longer?)

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The Skint Foodie
5/9/2012 02:47:43

I don't know! Maybe the smoker used has a specific time cycle, and, whereas other products are place in the smoker once, this is put in three times. All I do know is that whatever the process is, it results in an intense smokiness.

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Grainne
5/9/2012 04:39:38

hmmm...'intense smokiness', good, very, very good.

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Lizzie link
6/9/2012 14:33:55

This looks awesome. I'm slightly confused though; the recipe calls for dried beans, and then says drain the beans - are you to cook the beans before they get cooked again with the pork?

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The Skint Foodie
6/9/2012 14:47:24

No Lizzie. Just above 'Drain the beans it says 'Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight.' You're draining off the excess water.

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Lizzie link
7/9/2012 05:25:54

Oh gawd, sorry! Silly eyes. I will be trying this out asap.

tom link
7/9/2012 14:51:29

Been stew eh.. what is it now? Haha.. I kill me! [deary me].

Seriously that looks like my kind of baked beans. I have used the method of laying the skin on the base of the pot before but didn't know to remove it - resulting in icky bits of the stuff ending up in the bowl - ewww! Definitely going to give a variation of this a go.
Also, great info on pork cuts in the article and comments.. Always a bit confusing and daunting for a noob such as myself.

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adam link
17/9/2012 09:39:06

keep on out-skinting us why don't you ; ) We thought we were the last word in 'making good' but I think you win - though if you cut out meat you would be much flusher still ; )

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The Skint Foodie
17/9/2012 10:46:35

Ha! So glad you left a comment, it meant I discovered your lovely blog. I've just tweeted a link to it.

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Stacy link
4/12/2012 04:43:06

I don't even know how I found you. A link from a link from a link of someone else's blog I read no doubt, but I have just spent the better part of an hour and a half reading back from your most current post. I love the way you write, your humor, your turn of phrase, the cheese challenge and all of the wonderful recipes. I have read your About Me page and I have a great deal of admiration for your good self as well. You are proof that a person can eat well on a small income, if his or her priorities are set correctly. I also love that you put as much care and concern into cooking properly just for you as others put in cooking for a family. I see too many singletons sacrificing flavor and eschewing fresh home cooked food because they don't think it is worthwhile cooking only for one. Which is a crying shame. I say, good for you!

Must get back to my reading.

Many thanks,

Stacy

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The Skint Foodie
4/12/2012 07:44:16

Hi Stacy

What a kind and lovely, if ill-deserved comment. Thank you!

And I agree with you totally re the crying shame of the 'I can't be bothered to cook for myself' mantra.

Cheers!

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Natalie Henderson
31/1/2013 08:53:09

Definitely one of my favourite recipes! Goes great with some buttermilk biscuits! Thanks so much!! :)

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