Slow-Cooker Black Bean Chili
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 9, 2012
Time
7 to 9 hours on low, or 4 to 6 hours on high
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer the sweetness of red bell peppers here, but any bell pepper will work. Small boneless hams are available in the meat case at most supermarkets. The aluminum foil in step 2 helps keep all the beans under the surface of the liquid, where they cook evenly. We like to serve this chili with sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and fresh cilantro.
Instructions
- Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Cook onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños in bacon fat until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer half of sautéed vegetables to medium bowl, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano to pot with remaining vegetables and cook until deeply fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water, broth, 2 teaspoons salt, dried beans, ham, and reserved bacon. Bring to boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Transfer bean mixture to slow cooker and arrange piece of aluminum foil on surface of liquid. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender, 7 to 9 hours (or cook on high 4 to 6 hours).
- Remove lid, discard foil, and transfer ham to cutting board. Stir tomatoes into slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, transfer canned beans to bowl and mash with potato masher until rough paste forms. Chop (or shred) ham into bite-size pieces. Stir mashed beans, ham, lime juice, and refrigerated vegetables into slow cooker. Cook, covered, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Serve.
Time
7 to 9 hours on low, or 4 to 6 hours on highYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
In a slow-cooker black bean chili recipe, black beans go into the slow cooker with an army of flavorful ingredients. So why is the result so often a dull, muddied mess? To build assertive flavor, we started our chili recipe by sautéing chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeños in a Dutch oven; beginning the sauté with bacon fat, rather than the usual oil, also helped amplify the meaty richness of the chili. When the vegetables were tender, we added chili powder, plus cumin and oregano, and let the spices bloom in the hot pan. We opted for the salty richness a small smoked ham lent to the chili as it cooked; removing the ham at the end of cooking and chopping it provided plenty of meat. Dried beans added to the slow cooker at the outset were still too hard by the time the chili was done. To speed the cooking, we simmered the beans in the Dutch oven for 15 minutes before transferring the contents to the slow cooker. For the right combination of creamy whole beans and a thick, rich chili, we mashed a can of black beans into the base of slow-cooked dried black beans.
Before You Begin
We prefer the sweetness of red bell peppers here, but any bell pepper will work. Small boneless hams are available in the meat case at most supermarkets. The aluminum foil in step 2 helps keep all the beans under the surface of the liquid, where they cook evenly. We like to serve this chili with sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and fresh cilantro.
Instructions
- Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Cook onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños in bacon fat until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer half of sautéed vegetables to medium bowl, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano to pot with remaining vegetables and cook until deeply fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in water, broth, 2 teaspoons salt, dried beans, ham, and reserved bacon. Bring to boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Transfer bean mixture to slow cooker and arrange piece of aluminum foil on surface of liquid. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender, 7 to 9 hours (or cook on high 4 to 6 hours).
- Remove lid, discard foil, and transfer ham to cutting board. Stir tomatoes into slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until tomatoes soften, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, transfer canned beans to bowl and mash with potato masher until rough paste forms. Chop (or shred) ham into bite-size pieces. Stir mashed beans, ham, lime juice, and refrigerated vegetables into slow cooker. Cook, covered, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Serve.
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