What? No, I wasn't grilling a pork butt, you SMOKE a pork butt. I meant that my rear end would be outside cooking.
The black beans and rice were a side dish to a couple of ribeyes that I had introduced to my cajun beef rub.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VFitjBHBDR6yUO8QhwR6k3Y7n1sYb2_7kLt92xGW4XSfRQRXQvPIkJKt6KKnWna8wfPnLay9NjRrimJka_MOCIEvbWKYp2F2ffdx-meo7Ukbb08eAsSNr_XWvl4thiVftTzUeDyjxHIL/s400/DSC_0021+resized.jpg)
Then said ribeyes made the acquaintance of a certain Big Green Egg who was running along at about 550f degrees.
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TIP: It's important to let your steaks "rest" after cooking. I don't just let mine rest, I give them the day spa treatment. Drizzle some Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and fresh herbs on the plate on which they will be resting.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiTCCstWGcv-00f3ApfWMRz-8UJ3IMtTnFt-siKP54OY0XszHH9UfMHG60JaW-uK-AUEkw7uIcS66Od07rS4MGmpLOJrVWEyCWhcs5p-YFg-tFeBtgor1WeieO9_kVMof_7KOBCS9Su3A/s400/DSC_0028+resized.jpg)
See? It makes them happy.
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Ok, on to the Black Beans and Rice. The thing I like about our quickie version is that it bypasses hours of soaking dried beans, simmering them with ham hocks, etc but still results in a reasonable facsimile of real black beans and rice. One of the tricks is using bacon grease/pork fat to saute the veggies. This lets you get away with only about a 20 minute cooking time.
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Chris' Quick Black Beans and Rice
Ingredients
1 can black beans rinsed
1/2 cup onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 ea Jalapeno peppers seeded, finely diced
1 tablespoon Pork fat (substitute butter if necessary...you don't keep your bacon grease?)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
2 teaspoons Cilantro chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
2 cups rice cooked
Instructions
Heat pork fat (bacon grease) in a saute pan. Once it comes to temp add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
As the onion starts to become soft and translucent, add the garlic and pepper (very finely diced & seeds removed). Saute for another 3 minutes.
Add the cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and black beans. Either add 1/4 cup of chicken broth or swirl 1/4 cup of water in the black bean can to get out the leftover "goodies" and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
Serve the beans over a timbale of rice and garnish with bacon, cilantro, sour cream, or whatever sounds good.
Here's a trick I came up with during cooking tonight. One of those aha moments. It may have been done before but it was new to me.
TIP: The "reverse timbale". A timbale is just using a small bowl to shape a mound of rice, grits, mashed potatoes, or whatever. Instead of pouring my beans over a timbale, I thought WHAT IF...
I put an inverted sauce cup in the small bowl first...
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Filled the small bowl with rice and inverted it onto a plate like a normal timbale...
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Removed the bowl and cup to form a "tim-bowl"....
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qgayhyyFdtzviBUiqBU6S2OnzJ33V78svZg0MT93eUZfk1TZu9udFo9VOORsgAm8N6La6UdaP0-5EvXU9tr0jOqL9HVo9Y4h663hORgfxjZH2sK64gMNvoED_QZiBGGwwCQ5_4z590mL/s400/DSC_0048+resized.jpg)
And filled it with the black beans!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjasgbl8xDcL1RZo6LwdfJAYpY8-rjqInvtluwUXjdjBPf5SYWFILJPGX7Z4Hy_nKQAgug_iSAiP3a3TyjxyGc94jYacWvIAZyi8leA03muSQ7xzKoozIoAeg94theke6zLZA914OBqnRoX/s400/DSC_0054++resized.jpg)
I know that it's almost impossible to be truly original in cooking anymore. No matter what you come up with, someone else already did it. But dammit, I was proud of coming up with it on my own*. ***
*Interestingly enough, that's the same thing that Gottfriend Leibniz said to Sir Isaac Newton**.
**Yes, I realize that calculus jokes have no place in a food blog.
***And just in case that wasn't good enough, I've already thought through the "double reverse timbale". That's where I do a "reverse timbale into a deep bowl. Then, you put two different things on the inside and outside of the formed "timbowl". For example, you could make a rice timbowl, put cooked stir fry stuff on the outside and an brown sauce inside of it. Cool presentation and then the guests mix it all up.****
****Yes I like footnotes.