Monday, November 19, 2007

Maybe


This morning in an attempt, yet again, to have a nice filling home cooked meal between coming home from work and going to that Monday night spin class, I pulled out the crock pot. The Brain's first response on his way to the shower was, "Oh are we having pizza tonight?" I told him maybe.

This latest attempt at crock-potting involved a Boston butt. (Isn't that the greatest name for a cut of pork?) Anyhow, this is another Cooking Light recipe and I checked out the reviews before making it. A lot of people liked it, and the ones that didn't thought it was bland. So I doubled up on the garlic, added some ground black pepper, some beef broth, and a 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. When I finally got home I was eager to find out if I was having Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans, or if we were indeed ordering pizza. The result?

It was OK.

It smelled good. I was excited to see the pork literally falling apart in the pan. The beans were soft and almost creamy. But it tasted kind of beige. Well the garlic and the salt came through, but it needs a kick. I'm not sure exactly what kind of kick it needs though. As I'll be eating plenty of leftovers of it, I may try adding a swirl of balsamic vinegar. I know vinegar always helps a navy bean soup. Or I might try sprinkling in some cayenne pepper for a little heat. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll get great overnight in the fridge.

Crock pot 2 Me 0.

Slow-Cooked Tuscan Pork with White Beans

1 (1 pound) bag dried navy beans
1 Tbsp minced fresh sage
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground fennel
16 cloves garlic, minced
21/2 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
4 cups water
1 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
a couple shakes of black pepper

Sort and wash navy beans and place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; Cover and let stand overnight.

Drain the beans and place in the crock pot. Place the Boston butt on top of the beans. Rub the herbs and seasonings and garlic into the pork. Pour on the water and broth. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

4 comments:

Gretel said...

Hmmm.... I'd go for heat. In fact, I'd just add some good ole' Frank's Red Hot to a bowl of it before reheating it. (Then you get a little vinegar AND a little heat.)

Anonymous said...

Try some old bay seasoning

Mary said...

Gretel- Thanks that worked great!

Scott- I'll have to try that! I'm SURE I can find old bay seasoning here too!

Zylo said...

Yeah, both pork and white beans tend to lack a lot of flavor. I'd say step up the seasonings as well. They can turn it into anything you want. Looked great at least.