Late Night Cravings · Recipe
Tony's All-Day Pinto Beans with Pork
↓ Jump to RecipeMy mother’s side of the family are cowboys, and every so often we’d make ham hocks and beans. The smoky flavor of the ham hock — and the bits of ham that fall apart into the beans — is tied to perhaps one of only two times I can remember my granddad giving me food. The other was a McDonald’s hamburger. Unfortunately, smoked ham hocks are hard to buy anymore, and when I do find them they’re often freezer-burned sadness.
Then I was walking through HMart and saw something interesting: pork neck bones. I realized an Asian grocery store had everything I needed to build an even better version of the dish I have such fond memories of. The pork neck bones deliver the collagen, while the pork belly delivers even more meat and rich savoriness than I ever got from the ham hocks. Liquid smoke brings the smoke, and if I need salt at all — I often don’t — I reach for smoked salt to keep layering that smokiness.
With the fundamentals in place, all that was left was luring my wife into loving my family-nostalgia dish as much as I do. All it took was a little Cajun love: her kitchen standby, Tony Chachere’s. No holy trinity, none of its bitter bell peppers — all she needs to feel like a dish tastes like home is Tony’s. I’m sure some great-grandma in New Orleans is frustrated that the younger generation is happy with the green can, but it’s been decades, and I promise you that bottle of Cajun magic gives the same flavor we got from most of the cheap eateries on Bourbon Street. It might not be right, but it’s delicious all the same.
A few mechanics behind it: the slow-cooker setting means the beans never get blasted into mush — they yield gradually, skins intact, while the collagen from the neck bones spends eight or ten hours melting into the broth until it coats the back of a spoon. The dried ancho or guajillo fills out the aromatic base onion and bell pepper would normally cover — sweet, fruity, gently smoky, none of the vegetal bite this kitchen skips. Serve over rice with hot sauce and pickled jalapeños, the caramel-crusted cornbread on the side.
The Ledger · Recipe
Tony's All-Day Pinto Beans with Pork
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pinto beans, picked over and rinsed (no soak required)
- 1½ to 2 lb pork mix: pork belly cut into 1½-inch chunks, plus pork neck bones
- 6–10 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled (left whole)
- 1 dried ancho or guajillo chile, stemmed and seeded
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional, for added depth)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2–3 drops liquid smoke
- Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, added in stages (about 1–2 tbsp total)
- Apple cider vinegar or pickled jalapeño brine, for finishing
- Water, to cover by 1½ inches
Method
- Brown the pork. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté on High. Working in batches to avoid crowding, brown the pork belly and neck bones on all sides until deeply colored, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- Bloom the aromatics. Reduce to Sauté Normal. Add the smashed garlic to the rendered fat and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds — just until fragrant, not browned. If using tomato paste, add it now and cook another 30 seconds, stirring until it darkens slightly into the fat.
- Deglaze. Pour in 1 cup of water and scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pot.
- Combine everything. Add the beans, dried chile, bay leaves, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper, liquid smoke, and the browned pork along with any accumulated juices. Add water to cover by 1½ inches. Do not add salt or Tony's at this stage — both come later.
- Slow cook. Cancel Sauté, secure the lid with the vent open, and set Slow Cook on More (High) for 3 to 4 hours, then switch to Normal for the remaining 4 to 6 hours. Stir once or twice if convenient, but it's not essential.
- Skim and season. Around hour 5, lift the lid and skim 2 to 3 ladles of fat off the top, leaving just a thin glossy layer. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Tony's. Taste — it should be on the way to seasoned but not finished. Replace the lid and continue cooking.
- Finish. When the beans are creamy inside and the pork is fork-tender, fish out the neck bones with tongs. Pull the meat off, discard the bones, and return the meat to the pot. Press a ladleful of beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon to mash them — this thickens the broth into something glossy. Taste and adjust with more Tony's, finishing with a splash of apple cider vinegar or pickled jalapeño brine to brighten everything.
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