FOOD NEWS
Easily Upgrade Your Dried Beans By Adding Some Flavorful Meats
By Angel Albring
Beans are a very healthy vegetable, packed with vitamins, nutrients, fiber, and protein, and most beans are also low in fat and sugar. They are a great way to turn a dish into a whole meal, such as chili with beans or Cajun-style red beans and rice, but you can add extra flavor to your bean side dishes with meat.
You can give a smoky flavor and a crispy texture to a bean dish by adding bacon, or you can use ham to add a rich and salty flavor to almost any type of bean. Additionally, you can add a spicy sausage for something a little hot, ground beef for a hearty flavor, and chicken for a lighter flavor and more texture.
However, keep in mind that different meats have different cooking times, so it's best to cook the meat, especially pork, before adding them to the beans, to ensure it’s cooked all the way through. Additionally, meat cooked ahead of time will be more flavorful than meat cooked with the beans.