Recipe Corner: Crockpot Black Bean Chili/Stew/Soup

This is easy and convenient to make in the crockpot. I use different methods depending on how much time I have, whether or not I'll be home during the day, and so on. It's not an authentic chili, but it's pretty good anyway.

* 1 cup black turtle beans (uncooked)
* ~3 cups liquid

~1 pound meat (such as ground buffalo, ground beef, chili-grind meat, stew meat, diced leftover meat from a previous meal, etc.)

1 can (~14.5-15 oz.) diced tomatoes (or equivalent)

1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped (optional, of course)

various herbs and spices, salt, pepper, seasonings, etc.

* You can use a can (~15 oz.) of cooked beans instead of the dry beans + liquid. There will be more comments about the beans later in this recipe. The liquid can be whatever you like as long as it's not too acidic. I use water, stock, beer, etc., or a combination.

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The basic method:

Brown the meat if it's something like ground beef. You can skip the browning for stew meat or for leftover meat, though it does add some nice flavor. Make sure the meat is in small chunks. Drain most or all grease that's released by the meat.

Throw the meat in the crockpot. Add the chopped onion, the canned tomatoes, 1 cup of dry beans, and 3 cups (more or less) of liquid. Turn the crockpot on and walk away.

Near the end of the cooking time (in the last half hour or so), add various seasonings and adjust the liquid level if desired. My usual seasonings for this are chili powder, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, cayenne to taste, and maybe a bay leaf or two. If I'm feeling especially ambitious, I might add a sploot or two of Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, hoisin sauce, miso, lime juice, etc. (not all of them, of course). I haven't been ambitious enough to add sour cream or yogurt or cheese to this yet.

I use the "low" setting if I have 6-8 hours of cooking time available. If I only have about 3-4 hours, I'll use the "high" setting.

Depending on the consistency (how much liquid there is) and the spices and what-not, this can be a chili, a stew, or a soup. If you think it's a soup, you can smash some of the beans to give it more body.

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No, you do not need to pre-soak the beans in any way. I will wash them and pick out any rocks or dirt. But that's it. They might take a little bit longer to cook than pre-soaked beans. But who's in a hurry? It's easier than all the planning ahead that would be necessary if I did want to pre-soak them. You do need to make sure that the cooking liquid is not too acidic before the beans are done. After the beans have softened to your liking, you can add wine or other acidic ingredients if desired.

In my experience, the flavors of the herbs and spices tends to get lost after several hours of crockpot cooking. That's why I add them shortly before serving. If your experience is different, feel free to add the seasonings whenever you like.

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The low-time, soccer-mom versions:

Version 1 (which I've never done, since I don't usually have canned beans around the house):

Replace the beans and liquid with a can of already-cooked black beans. Adjust the liquid level to your liking; you won't need the 3 cups you'd need for dry beans. Add the meat, tomatoes, and onion. Turn the crockpot on and walk away for several hours. Heck, you could probably do this one on the stove in less than an hour if you're really short for time.

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Version 2:

This is the first version I ever did. I realized in early afternoon that I was going to be running around all day and still needed to make something for dinner. For most of the day, I'd be home for 30-45 minutes, then head out again for 1-2 hours, then back home, rinse and repeat, all the way until bedtime.

Rinse 1 cup turtle beans (uncooked). Put them in a saucepan on the stove. Cover with plenty of water (about 3 cups, probably, or maybe a little bit more). Bring to a boil, give a quick stir, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer.

After that gets started, brown up a pound or so of ground beef. (We usually use ground buffalo instead.) Put this in the crockpot with a small can of diced tomatoes and a small chopped onion. Turn the crockpot to high.

About an hour to an hour-and-a-half later, add the half-cooked beans and their cooking liquid to the crockpot. Toss in a bay leaf if you're feeling festive. Turn the crockpot to low.

When you're at home, you can turn the heat to high. When gone, turn it to low. It's ready to eat in 3-6 hours, depending on how often you're home and when you're ready to eat. Add seasonings in the last half hour or so of cooking (or even just before serving).

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If you eliminate the meat, this would be vegetarian (duh...). I sometimes make a version of this with winter squash instead of meat. The squash is cut open, peeled, seeded, and chunked, and tossed into the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients. If the squash/pumpkin is too hard to peel, I microwave it for a few minutes.

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Last night's version was more of a stew than a chili. We used leftover diced meat. There was more liquid than usual. And I didn't spice it up in a chili-like way. It was good anyway.