Molasses and Cumin Roast Pork & Pit Beans

READY IN 600 mins

This is my signature dish and one of my favourite dishes to cook. The low and slow method of roasting the shoulder until tender while making your whole house smell amazing is exhilarating. The beans are pretty darn good too!

Ingredients

Pit Beans:
1 yellow onion (chopped)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
8 cloves garlic (large chopped)
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 small can kidney beans
1 large can chickpeas
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 large can (796ml) organic tomatoes
¼ cup molasses
For the pork:
600 – 700 g Pork shoulder blade or pork butt roast
1 onion (sliced thick into rings)
3 – 4 tablespoons molasses
2 - 3 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 – 2 teaspoons flaked or coarse sea salt
1 bottle of Phillips Rootbeer

Directions

I would recommend making the beans in advance unless you have two ovens. They reheat beautifully and can be made several days in advance.
For the beans, preheat a large crock or pot on medium high heat. Add a little oil and then the onions, carrots and celery. Sauté for several minutes until the onions begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer.
Now add the spices, give a good stir and sauté for an additional minute.
Now you can add the beans, vinegar, tomato and molasses. Stir well to bring it all together, bring to a simmer and then place in a 300 degree F oven for 2 hours. Check the moisture level throughout the cooking process to make sure they don’t get too dry. Add ¼ cup of water as necessary to prevent burning!
Let’s get on to the pork. Place the onion rings in the bottom of a small roasting pan. These are going to be the base that the pork sits on.
Place the pork onto the onions and drizzle with molasses. Use a pastry brush to spread if necessary. Season liberally with the spices and sprinkle some of the ginger and then flip and repeat. In the end the roast should be liberally coated in the molasses, spices and ginger and it should be sitting on top of the thick onion slices.
Pour enough root beer to come up to the bottom of the pork and place into the oven. I like to slow roast for 10 – 12 hours at a temperature of 220 degrees F. Alternatively you can bump up the heat to 350 and have the roast ready in 1 ½ – 2 hours. In the end, the pork should be so tender that it pulls apart effortlessly. This is called fork tender.
Serve this dish with a couple slices of pork garnished with some of the onions and a drizzle of the root beer jus as well as some pit beans and a side of slaw if you want to lighten the meal a little.

PREP 45 mins
COOK 600 mins
READY IN 600 mins