Frijol con Puerco ( Beans with Pork) recipe

In most households in the Yucatan, we have the tradition of eating a very easy to prepare dish known as "Frijol con Puerco" on Mondays. This dish is a true delicacy, and it is so easy to prepare that it is considered a dish for busy people. Back then, they said the dish was prepared by busy women on Mondays, since they would leave the beans and meat cooking on the pot, while they dedicated themselves to washing clothes, sewing or cleaning up their homes.

Legends say the real tradition of this dish dates back to the days of lack of refrigerators. It is believed that farmers would slaughter their pigs on Saturdays and preserved the meat by salting it. Then, they would return to their households on Mondays and the wives would cook a big pot of beans and add the pork to it.

Frijol con Puerco is without a doubt one of the most simple yet best tasting dishes of the Yucatecan cuisine! Now that you know the story behind this dish, lets get to the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the stew

16 OZ of dry black beans (soak them for about 6 hours)

1.5 of pork shoulder cut in cubes

3 cups of water

1 tbsp of salt

a sprinkle of dry epazote herbs ( you can skip this if not available)

1/2 an onion

For the Sauce (Chiltomate)

4 Roma tomatoes (roasted)

2 cloves of garlic (roasted)

1 tbsp of Our Habanero Hot sauce

For garnish: chopped radish, cilantro, slices avocado, and lime wedges.

Instructions

This dish is made with black beans. We like to use dry beans and we soak them in warm water for about 6 hours. If you are short on time, read the notes at the bottom of the recipe.

ADD all ingredients for the stew to the pot.

CLOSE the lid on the pressure cooker and set it for 35 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes.

USE our Habanero Carrot as it is, or blend it with the roasted tomatoes and garlic to create the chunky salsa. Due to convenience, we just add our hot sauce to the dish, but if you want to serve the dish the traditional way, make the Chiltomate salsa!

For the Chiltomate salsa:

ROAST the tomatoes and garlic are until slightly charred.

REMOVE from heat and peel

ADD the tomatoes, garlic and our Habanero sauce to a bowl and mash to blend all together.

CHOP your cilantro, radish and slice your avocado.

Once the pressure cooker is done, let it natural release and prepare for serving.

ADD your beans and pork to a bowl, top with slices of avocado, radish, cilantro and your Habanero sauce!

This dish can be served over white rice or as a soup on its own!

Notes:

We like to soak or beans before cooking because this is how we were taught. It's supposed to help them cook more evenly and help with digestion. If you are short on time, skip the soaking step and just pressure cook your beans with the pork for the 35 minutes and then increase the natural release part to 15-20 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes.