Crockpot Pork And Beans - pinto beans

Method

• Rinse dried beans several times. If you have beans that are already cleaned, the easiest way to do this is to put beans in a large bowl and fill the bowl up with water at the facet. Swirl the beans around with your hands. Remove any rocks or shriveled looking beans. Pour out most of the water along with any floating bean skins, dirt, etc. Do this multiple times. If your beans aren't already cleaned, spread the beans out (in batches) on a flat surface and pick out rocks and sticks. Then rinse in a colander under running water.
• Soak dry beans for eight hours (or over night, but be careful not to soak them too long; max ten hours). Cover with plenty of water because they will soak most of it up. Add 1-2 tsp salt if you want to prevent "blow out".
• After the beans have soaked, pour out the soaking water.
• Pour soaked beans into your slow cooker. Add clean water to cover by at least two inches. Turn your slow cooker on to LOW.
• Peal and quarter an onion. Add to slow cooker.
• Peal a bunch of garlic cloves. Six, ten, twenty. Whatever. Add to slow cooker.
• Add a fresh green jalapeno to the slow cooker, stalk end chopped off. For milder beans, you may want to slice it down the middle and remove the seeds.
• Add cumin to the slow cooker. For the best results, start with whole cumin seeds and roast them in a dry, hot skillet. They will darken and crackle quickly. They are done when they are dark brown and pungent. If they scorch or burn, toss them out and try again. Once the seeds are roasted, you can add them whole or, better yet, grind them using a spice (coffee) grinder or using a mortar-and-pestel. Maybe you are thinking, "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Its okay to just use plain ground cumin. Don't be shy, a little bit of cumin doesn't go very far. Use lots, perhaps 2 tbs depending on how many beans you are cooking.
• Add some ground coriander, about 1/2 tsp.
• Add some ground celery seed, 1/4 tsp.
• Add some fresh ground pepper to the beans, about 1/2 tsp.
• Add 2 to 4 dried whole red peppers. Effects spiciness a lot.
• Add chili powder to the beans. The amount is heavily dependent on the type of chili powder and your heat preference. Add at least 1 tsp to round out the flavor.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the salted pork and simmer for ten minutes to remove salt. Remove the meat and let it cool long enough to handle (or just grab it with some tongs!), and then quarter it and add to slow cooker.
• Cover and cook in your slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on LOW. Cook until tender.
• Make sure that the beans don't dry out while cooking. If you add enough water at the beginning you won't need to add more. Still, check it once or twice if you can and add more as needed.
• Using tongs, remove the the onion, peppers, and pork. You can save the meat for something else, or even shred it and add it back. It is fairly tough and bland, so I just toss it out.
• Add salt to taste.