Meat is murder. . . tasty, tasty murder.

If you find offense with this title, well, this recipe wasn't for you to begin with. My ancestors didn't evolve to sit on the top of the food chain to feel bad for the animals we selectively breed (genetically modified over a long period of time to taste good when roasted over fire, I swear I'm not becoming aroused thinking about it....) to be feasted upon. Don't discount our friendly animals that we didn't selectively breed to be delicious, they are tasty as well, but we should begin with the animals we have created to be a food source.

I don't feel bad for these animals, I see them as fulfilling a purpose in life. A tasty purpose when cooked correctly.

This also means that I respect the fact that although these animals were raise to feed me, they ultimately gave their life so I can eat them. Yes, I will burst the bubble that steak and bacon mysteriously appears in the supermercado from no where. Something once lived and then died for our meal: so we better use everything otherwise we are insulting the sacrifice which will ultimately end up in our bellies.

Of course if the mega-marts would have us believe that only prime rib, t-bones, and other 'choice' cuts of meat exist; the artificially pumped cash cow of most major 'find everything here' stores. But this always forgets all the most delicious cuts of meat that are out there, cuts that unless you actually think about how to cook it are disregarded as crap.

One man's lust for the crappiest cuts of t-bones out there is this man's delicious dinner.

This leads me to our friend, the piggie. Nothing says savory and rich as thinking pork and its most iconic cut, BACON.

I shall now spend the next few paragraphs drooling:

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Ok, before the computer bursts into flames or electrocutes me from what is turning into a Simpsons' episode, I should point out to the fiscally minded cooks out there that bacon isn't exactly cheap. I'm not talking about that crappy, thin sliced, chemically crafted bacon mass produced by companies who's purpose in life isn't creating the best product ever. I'm talking about bacon with a capital 'B'.

This is jowl Bacon. Notice the big 'B'? This means it is for the big kids out there, not those who don't understand what is good. Jowl bacon is from, you guessed it, the jowl of the piggie. Why is this important? Because it comes from a location of the piggie that is pure flavor (aka, fat), which means it is rich and savory and perfect for slow cooking into a beautiful soup.

The soup of course being my home made bean soup. something that I can throw into the slow cooker and just let it melt into perfected soup goodness. Unlike most of my other slow cooker recipes, this one requires a few steps, but it is worth it.

Bacon Bean Soup

Tools:

Cutting Board

Knife

Slow Cooker (4 quart)

Ingredients:

1 lb jowl bacon (you can usually find it near the prepackaged cubed pork product, but if you can't find it as the butcher. They will be impressed you actually know what is good and ask for it.)

1 bag of dried navy beans or mixed soup beans (ends up to be 2 cups dry, but don't get the 'pre-seasoned' beans. Like many things, they are seasoned by a machine that has no sense of taste and you will suffer for it!)

2 cups of mirepoix (Carrots, onions, celery: this is yet again a favorite shortcut that I can buy pre-frozen and cut up on sale for about a dollar if you buy the supermarket brand. For soup it is perfect and easy to get.)

2 chicken bouillon cubes (for the love of the unholy, if you are still using those dried out, salty cubes your mother used for years, get rid of them! Head to your local hispanic market or well stocked supermarket and get the Knorr brand of bouillon, your belly will thank you!)

2 large onions, chopped up fine (because onion is delicious)

1 huge tablespoon of chopped garlic (same reason as above, more garlic is good)

Water...lots of water.

Steps to this madness:

Cut up the bacon into small cubes, about half and inch by half and inch (2 cm x 2 cm for my euro friends). Turn the slow cooker onto high and toss the bacon into the bottom of the pan. Close and walk away for an hour. Seriously, walk away! This will let the fats begin to render out of the bacon, which of course means flavor. And before you health freaks go insane, realize that the human body needs fats, and in the overall scheme of things this pound of bacon will end up being 1/15th of a lb of meat per serving. So don't freak out!

After the bacon renders for a bit, take the chopped up onion, mirepoix, and garlic and throw on top of the bacon and mix. Cover and walk away again for another 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the veggies to sweat and release their flavor.

After this is all done, add in the two bouillon cubes to the mix, pour the beans into the soup, and cover the entire mixture in water to about an inch from the top of the crock pot (otherwise the crock pot will boil over when it is cooking). Turn the crock pot onto low and leave it alone for the next 16 hour or so and you will have a delicious soup perfect for corn bread (I won't lie, I like the cheap instant mix I can get from the store, so don't feel like you have to go all out for this meal) or a good crusty loaf of bread. Make sure to look at it every 4 or so hours and add water when needed.

And that is how you make soup!

Bien Camino!