Having had pretty decent success with bean-and-beef dishes, I decided to try it with a pork shoulder roast last weekend.  It came out pretty well, and couldn’t get much easier. 

I soaked about a cup of “cranberry” beans overnight in water to start with.  You could use whatever bean you have handy…I had cranberries.  Pinto or calypso, or Anasazi beans would also come out well.  I love heirloom bean varieties, and have tried a bunch.  I really like the ones with groovy names, like Rattlesnake, buckskin, etc.  You can find tons of them at Bob’s Red Mill in Portland.  But I digress.

Once the beans were soaked, I threw them in a Dutch oven with the pork shoulder roast (mine was about 3 pounds), a big can of Mexican-style hominy (posole) and a packet of “red enchilada sauce mix” I picked up at New Seasons.  Threw in enough water to cover, slapped the lid on and brought it up to a boil on the stove top. 

After it boiled, I moved it to a 350° oven for 3 hours.  At the end of the 3 hours, I threw in salt to taste, and about 1/3 cup of white wine vinegar to bring out the chiles in the enchilada sauce mix.  You could also use canned enchilada sauce, in which case I’d leave out the vinegar and some of the salt.  Back in the oven for another hour, and it was ready to serve.

I served each person a hunk off the roast, and some of the beans/posole from the pot.  You could also shred up the pork and mix it all together. 

Low effort, and both tasty and filling.  I’d like to try it with green sauce some time, either from scratch or just canned.  I think tonight the leftovers are going to find their way into burritos.