Cowboy beans - hearty comfort food

I haven’t posted a recipe for quite some time but I’m just home from a trip to Japan where we were had hot, humid weather to a cold, wintery Central Otago. A combination of jet lag and a craving for winter food brought out this favourite comfort food recipe. 

We call this cowboy beans because it is a hearty bacon and beans stew. It could be spiced up with chipotle peppers and smoked paprika but it’s pretty good as is. 



I like to use the pressure cooker for this hearty meal but it is also great in the crockpot. My pressure cooker is one with presets on it so I use a pot roast setting, check the tenderness of the hock and if needed put on for a soup setting to make sure the bacon is soft and tender. 

Ingredients 
Smoked bacon hock on the bone
1 litre tomato juice
Large onion finely chopped 
3 carrots diced
3 cans beans - drained and rinsed. Choose what you like. I used butter beans, canelli beans and pinto beans this time. 
2 teaspoons dried basil
Ground black pepper

Method 
Put everything in the pressure cooker or slow cooker. Make sure everything is mixed through. 

Slow cook 6-8 hours on low
Pressure cooker 40-60 minutes

Remove the hock from the pot. Pull the meat off the bone, dice up and return to the pot and mix through. Serve in bowls with toast or crusty bread. 

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