Black Bean Soup

Black beans, or bleans, are one of the tastiest beans out there.  While I am sure there are many fantastic vegetarian black bean soups out there, this is not one of them.  This is a very porky black bean soup.  Apologies to vegetarians and pork-averse readers.

Black beans!  From the Wikimedia Commons

One of the things a slow cooker does very well is to cook weird pieces of meat and make them tender and delicious.  What makes a piece of meat weird?  Well, here are some things that are not weird: boneless skinless chicken breast, ground beef, ribeye, and boneless skinless chicken thigh.  Things that are weird: anything with skin still on it, anything with the bone still in it, and anything that I don't immediately know I can find at Super Target.  Chicken parts: weird.  Whole chicken: super weird.  Smoked ham hock: what?

Super weird Japanese thing.  Watch all the mameshiba videos on you tube!

This specialized ingredient was not at my normal grocery store.  This is not the first time this has happened.  The first time, I was looking for something called blade steak.  I went to the fanciest grocery store I could think of, approached the expansive intimidating meat counter, and made my request.
"A what?"
"A blade steak"
"Um...let me go in the back and ask someone."
They never came back out.  The was a learning moment for me.  All the celebrity chefs say to talk to your butcher, find out what's fresh, they'll have helpful tips on how to best cook certain cuts of meat, make friends with them, take them out for drinks.  Okay, maybe not the last part so much.  Anyway, it was at that moment I realized there was probably very little butchering going on behind that fancy meat counter.  Actually, the learning moment was spread out over the 20 minutes I was waiting for the meat attendant to come back.  Now my tactic is to look at two or three places, then find a substitute.

Look, they even have Mameshiba plushies!

This time I found a smoked ham shank instead of smoked ham hock.  Close enough.

Mmm...soup!  Is sticking a spoon on it at all like putting a bird on it?  

The soup turned out good, if a little smokier and a little meatier than when it has ham hock.  Garnish with sour cream, red onion, and hot sauce.

Mameshiba coin purse!  Squee!

What: Black Bean Soup
Results: Good.  Smokey, meaty
Where: America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution