I've been excited about black beans lately. They're quick and easy to toss together (15 minutes to throw into a crock pot and then 8 hours to slow cook). No need to soak them overnight or fuss with simmering them on the stove (unless you want to! I do have a whole article on The Fundamentals of Stovetop Black Beans). Last week I made Slow Cooker Black Beans w/ Super Chili Peppers. This week I have a different set of peppers ripening in the garden. Red ember peppers are about 30,000-50,000 Scovilles. This puts them at about the same heat level as a cayenne pepper. This makes them hotter than a serrano, but milder than a habanero. Which makes them at about the same heat level as the super chili peppers that I used on the last batch. Hence, the Slow Cooker Black Beans w/ Red Ember Peppers.
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Variations of Red Ember Peppers Black Beans
I make black beans fairly regularly in the fall when fresh peppers begin to ripen. You can mix and match the peppers to use what you have available throughout the rest of the year. It does make fall a fun time for me when I have a grab bag of peppers just outside the back door. Although you can absolutely use any peppers of choice with any heat of choice. I've made black beans with any heat level from no peppers at all to mix of every pepper that I have at my disposal.
Farmers markets and local nurseries are a great way to pick up fun peppers. Otherwise, there's going to be a couple types of peppers available year-round at your local grocery store. I can almost always get jalapeños, Serranos, and habaneros. There's even a place that typically has Thai chilis and shishito peppers. Asian and other specialty grocery stores tend to be a good place to start if you're looking for something a little less generic.
Add the beans and all of the other ingredients to a crock pot with the water.
Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the desired consistency is reached. I like to start the beans in the morning and then come back to then after work or before bed to wake up to freshly cooked beans.The beans should retain their shape during the cooking process (and not start to break apart), but should be soft enough to pinch between your fingers or a fork. It's much like the consistency of a baked potato, where you could theoretically turn it into mashed potatoes, but it also stands on its own.There may still be some residual water left in the crock pot after 8 hours. If the beans aren't fully cooked, simply continue to cook until the water cooks in and the beans are the right tenderness. If the beans are fully cooked, you can drain the water or quickly simmer the remainder of it out on the stove. Depending on how old your beans are, they may require slightly different amounts of water to re-hydrate. Older beans will take more water and time, while fresher beans will cook in less time with less water.
Remove the bay before serving or storing.The bay leaves are for flavor and not everyone wants to eat an entire leaf! So, take note of how many you put in and make sure to remove them after cooking. You can pull them out later. But, if you refrigerate the beans, they'll solidify more when chilled and the bay leaves will be harder to find. It's easier to do this while they're still warm and you can easily sift through them!
If you want to make no-fry refried beans or more of a bean dip, remove the bay leaves and mash with a potato masher. You can also pulse in a food processor or purée entirely.This process might require more water. So, if you do have additional water left in the crock pot after cooking, you may want to reserve it and add back in if necessary to create a smoother no-fry refried bean consistency.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For more information about making dried beans in a crock pot, I have an entire article on The Fundamentals of Slow Cooker Black Beans. Which has additional tips and tricks along with the rationale for not pre-soaking or rinsing beans and bean substitutions if you want to cook with pinto or other bean varieties.
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