I recommend you consider as ingredients:
2 bottles of beer
1 tablespoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of powdered cloves
You might also consider using hamhocks instead of chicken or sausage. When I make my black bean soup I boil the hamhocks separately for 45 minutes before adding them to the soup pot. Then I use that water to make pork-flavored rice.
Potatoes and celery also go well in black bean soup.
I cook beans in big batches in my slow cooker and then freeze them until needed. Works great and the house smells good when I come home from work.
Add cumin, and maybe some green peppers and garlic, and a moderate amount of crushed tomatoes. Not much hot pepper if at all. Dry beans do work better.
Save the (fresh is ideal) salsa to go on top (hot chili here), with sour cream if you’re so inclined.
I like the contrast of the warm but not spicy-hot beans and the cool but spicy salsa.
Color me inspired by this thread.
I’ve got a pot going, I added a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and chilis, along with some Aidell’s spicy mango and jalepeno smoked chicken sausage.
I cooked the beans with a hamhock tonight and am going to put them in the fridge and finish the soup tomorrow. Got some sausage and chicken out–usually I just use a little sausage but I feel like a MEATY soup this time.
The beans cooked up just fine, too!
Yay! Sounds great. Now you make me want black bean soup!
Well, considering I cooked up 2 pounds of beans and still have the chicken and sausage and other ingredients to add…you’re invited!
I’ll probably divide up the beans and freeze some of them tomorrow…always good to have black beans on hand to throw in…well, everything.
Great suggestions! I haven’t made mine for a while, and it sounds like I need to find a ham hock.
Stolen from my green chili recipe is the substitution of hominy for corn. It’s corny, too, but with extra hearty chewiness. I usually add chipotle in adobo for heat, but I like it spicy! Never tried sriracha in a chili, must do that.
I’m another fan of multi-meat chilies, with bacon and pork/sausage and shredded chicken, etc.
I agree with Troppus that some kind of vinegar brightens the flavors.
Black beans are a staple of our diet: we go through a pound of dried every week or two. The slow-cooker is fine, but too often they get dry around the edges. Instead, I like to cook them with a bit of salt and a chopped onion and some garlic after dinner one night, put them in the fridge overnight, and make burritos the next evening for dinner. As someone else said, they freeze nicely. Super-cheap food and very delicious.
I’m a big fan of ham hocks, however, I feel obliged to point out that there’s really not that much meat on them. They’re mostly skin, bone, and fat, with a few slivers of meat. You put the hocks in the beans to add flavor, not meat.
Cheftroy taught me to use a ham steak in my beans, and also to use chicken broth instead of plain water. I’m much obliged to him, because my bean dishes have been greatly improved.
^
a fat “forearm” gives enough meat, skin and gelatinous gristle for a man-sized meal. with regard to flavor, i’d put in a small piece of tough beef fat cap.
I wondered how much meat was on that enormous chunk of weirdness. I have plenty of ham in the freezer, though, plus the remnants of some smoked pork chops I got on sale recently. (God forbid I should throw away those bones and scraps…)
When I make white beans, I put a little bacon or ham for flavor, but the meat of it is always chicken…boil a whole chicken, pickpickpick, then make the beans in that broth with allllll that chicken.
My mom thinks there’s something wrong with that. Beans are to be made with HAM! But I love beans and chicken. Very satisfying.
I’m off to start on my Black Bean Soup Project now.
Okay, all ingredients are on and it’s simmering away and looks and so far tastes divine. I have to tell you that hamhock was the strangest piece of meat I ever worked with in my life, but Hotrod is enjoying the bone, so there ya go.
Just for kicks (and because I’m weirdo-frugal) I decided to see how much this pot–well, two pots, actually, I ran out of room in the first–of goodness cost me.
2# beans: $2.50
*stock pod: 1.00
carrots, onion, spices: 1.00
leftover smoked chops: 0.00 (nothing but bones and tidbits that I couldn’t throw out)
*weird hamhock: 1.50
b/s chicken thighs (6): 3.50
sausages (6): 3.50
salsa: 3.00
diced chiles: 1.00
Total: about $17.00 for two big pots almost full. If I were aiming for lowering the cost, I’d not use the hamhock (I have cheaper actual ham in the freezer), use less or only one type of meat, and use my own chicken stock which I’d make out of my on-sale chicken. I am also considering adding a huge can of stewed tomatoes, which I got on sale for $1 yesterday, but haven’t decided yet.
HOWEVER! I work with very nice clients who love it when I bring them soup for lunch/dinner; and they always give me $20 (although I don’t ask or expect it). They’re eagerly awaiting their black bean soup, and so it may be that my entire experiment will be funded by their generosity.
All in all, a very good experience. Thanks for all your tips and inspiration! How did everyone else’s turn out?
karol
I forgot…you’ll need to defat the liquid when you use a hamhock. I use a gravy separator, which does a good job. Grandma would have saved that fat for later use, and sometimes I do too.
I only used one hamhock (it looked so huge!) so there wasn’t much fat, even after I refrigerated it overnight. Rinsed it all off when I rinsed the beans. All is well.
The soup is lovely as is, or would be great wrapped in a burrito. And tomorrow it will be even better!
I’m bookmarking this thread for when it’s my turn to make supper again. This stuff sounds awesome!
Just a word to the wise:
Two pounds of beans cooks up big. 
So what do you think on the dried beans versus canned? Are you a convert?
Hmmm. I like the dried beans fine…I’m not positive that I can tell a lot of difference between the canned and dried, though. Maybe a little more firm, I think, which is fine by me…I don’t like my soup blended/smooth anyway.
Definitely cheaper, though. I pay $1/can at least for black beans, and two pounds of dried were less than $3, so that’s a really big savings for me. I’ll keep a few cans on hand, and try to keep some dried/cooked in the freezer (although I used them all this time!).
Yes, overall, I’m pretty sold now that I’ve found I can make them without them turning out like little black pebbles. Maybe I’ll try them in the crock pot next time.
I do the same thing - I like dried better, but when I’ve worked a ten or twelve hour day and I’m tired and just want to eat something moderately healthy RIGHT NOW the canned does the trick.
The big taste difference for me is that the canned taste metallic to me now. Not in a bad way, but there’s definitely a sharp tinny taste to them whereas the dried taste earthy. Cook the dried a bit more if you found them firmer than canned - trust me, you can get them to turn into mush if you forget and leave them on the stove while you play Borderlands and those midget mutants just won’t let you pause. (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything)