Name: Slow-Cooker Brazilian Black Bean and Pork Stew
Total time: 7 h
Cuisine: Central & South AmericanLatin America & Caribbean
Ingredients: 5 cups water; 1 pound (2 1/2 cups) dried black beans , picked over and rinsed; 4 garlic cloves , peeled and smashed; 2 bay leaves; Salt and pepper; 1/8 teaspoon baking soda; 1 pound Spanish-style chorizo sausage , halved crosswise; 1 smoked ham hock; 1 onion , halved; 1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) rack St. Louis–style spareribs , trimmed and cut into 3 pieces; orange wedges

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted an ultrasatisfying stew of creamy black beans in a full-bodied, smoke-and-pork-infused broth all piled high with chorizo and tender, juicy ribs. So we cut out many of the traditional time- and labor-intensive steps and reached for the slow cooker. We skipped soaking the beans, instead adding a pinch of baking soda for even cooking. Additionally, we discovered that browning the different cuts of meat on the stovetop wasn't necessary to achieve full, complex flavor. Adding a ham hock provided body and smokiness that more than made up for anything lost by not browning the meat. And finally, we found that raising the ribs out of the cooking liquid by stacking them on top of the other ingredients kept them from overcooking and becoming mushy, ensuring a perfect result every time.

Before You Begin

Serve this hearty dish with rice.

Instructions

Combine water, beans, garlic, bay leaves, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and baking soda in slow cooker. Nestle chorizo, ham hock, and onion into bean mixture. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place ribs on top of bean mixture, taking care to submerge as little of ribs as possible and overlapping as necessary. Cook until beans and ribs are tender, 6 to 7 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

Transfer ribs, ham hock, and chorizo to cutting board and tent with aluminum foil. Discard onion and bay leaves. Transfer 1 cup of beans to bowl and mash with potato masher or fork until smooth; stir mashed beans back into stew in slow cooker.

Shred meat from ham hock into bite-size pieces; discard fat and bones. Stir shredded meat into stew. Slice chorizo ½ inch thick. Slice ribs between bones. Transfer meat to platter and serve with stew, passing orange wedges separately.