Black Beans with Ham Hocks and Dry Sherry
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
3 hours
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Beans
1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed12 cups water ⅔ pound smoked ham hock 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered1 medium onion, minced6 medium cloves garlic, minced2 bay leaves 1 ½ teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon kosher saltSofrito
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, minced1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced8 medium cloves garlic, minced2 teaspoons dried oregano ¾ teaspoon table salt or 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 tablespoon dry sherry Ground black pepperBefore You Begin
Serve with Fluffy White Rice. Garnish the dish with a spoonful of sour cream, minced red onion, and a dash or two of hot red pepper sauce.
Instructions
- Bring all bean ingredients to boil over medium-high heat in heavy soup kettle or Dutch oven, skimming surface as scum rises. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, adding more water if cooking liquid reduces to level of beans, until tender but not splitting (taste several, as they cook unevenly), about 2 hours. Remove ham hock from beans. When cool enough to handle, remove ham from bone, discard bone and skin, and cut meat into bite-size pieces; set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat; add ingredients from onion through salt; sauté until vegetables soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add cumin and coriander; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
- Scoop 1 cup beans and 2 cups cooking liquid into pan with sofrito; mash beans with potato masher or fork until smooth. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 6 minutes. Return sofrito mixture and reserved meat to bean pot; simmer until beans are creamy and liquid thickens to sauce consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Add sherry; simmer 1 minute longer. Adjust seasoning with pepper and salt if necessary, and serve hot over fluffy white rice.
for the beans
for the sofrito
to finish dish
Time
3 hoursYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Beans
1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed
12 cups water
⅔ pound smoked ham hock
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
1 medium onion, minced
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 ½ teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Sofrito
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
8 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¾ teaspoon table salt or 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Beans
1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed
12 cups water
⅔ pound smoked ham hock
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
1 medium onion, minced
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 ½ teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Sofrito
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
8 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¾ teaspoon table salt or 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Beans
1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed
12 cups water
⅔ pound smoked ham hock
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
1 medium onion, minced
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 ½ teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Sofrito
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
8 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¾ teaspoon table salt or 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For the most full-flavored black beans recipe, we skipped the presoaking and cooked the beans in plenty of water for even cooking. Adding salt right at the start of cooking, which is said to toughen the skins and increase cooking time overall, was actually a good idea—the only way we found to season the beans properly. To build flavor in our black beans recipe, we discovered there is nothing like a sofrito, a mixture of diced onions, green bell pepper, garlic, and oregano sautéed in olive oil and spiced with cumin. Meat cooked along with the beans—in the form of ham hocks—proved itself necessary to a rich, deep flavor as well.
Before You Begin
Serve with Fluffy White Rice. Garnish the dish with a spoonful of sour cream, minced red onion, and a dash or two of hot red pepper sauce.
Instructions
- Bring all bean ingredients to boil over medium-high heat in heavy soup kettle or Dutch oven, skimming surface as scum rises. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, adding more water if cooking liquid reduces to level of beans, until tender but not splitting (taste several, as they cook unevenly), about 2 hours. Remove ham hock from beans. When cool enough to handle, remove ham from bone, discard bone and skin, and cut meat into bite-size pieces; set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat; add ingredients from onion through salt; sauté until vegetables soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add cumin and coriander; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
- Scoop 1 cup beans and 2 cups cooking liquid into pan with sofrito; mash beans with potato masher or fork until smooth. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 6 minutes. Return sofrito mixture and reserved meat to bean pot; simmer until beans are creamy and liquid thickens to sauce consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Add sherry; simmer 1 minute longer. Adjust seasoning with pepper and salt if necessary, and serve hot over fluffy white rice.
for the beans
for the sofrito
to finish dish
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