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Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 4

A few weeks ago I stopped a radio interview, mid-conversation, to correct the interviewer.

I don’t ever do this. I love talking to people who don’t know beer, who want to ask questions. People who have genuine interest in learning about a subject they have only scratched the surface of. Sometimes I get someone who just pretends to know about beer. It makes things awkward. I’ll let a few things slide, like the radio guy I adore who keeps referring to all beer as "lagers" even when he’s actually talking about ales. We’ll just move forward, no need to correct. But then sometimes it’s just too much and I have to shut things down for a 30 second beer-geek rant. It started a bit like this:

Interviewer: "So this is a big season for beer people, right?! I mean harvest beer! I love harvest beer, you know, because I can’t get enough pumpkin. I love anything that tastes like pumpkins!"

So we stopped to talk about harvest beers. The fact that "harvest" actually refers to hop harvest and beers made with freshly harvested hops. Hops are only harvested once a year making the beer made that special time of year—that small window of time when you can use freshly harvested hops—incredibly rare and sought after. But only if your brewery is within driving distance of the farm, hops start to go bad fairly quickly. The rest of the year you can only use dried hops in one form or another. Harvest is a big deal for us. No matter where we are, it’s the first beer we want to try if we see it on tap. After all, it’s only a matter of time before all the wet hopped kegs are dry and the moment has passed.

The good news is that I got to talk about hop harvest and what a huge deal it is, especially in the Pacific Northwest where 80% of the hops in the USA are grown. I also got to talk about how beer people will push a case of pumpkin beer down the stairs just to get to a fresh hop beer. I was nice, because we’ve all been there. We’ve all been in a situation when we though we knew what we were talking about, but really had no idea. I thanked the interviewer for letting me talk about fresh hop beers, they are my favorite right now. And I hope fresh hop beer sales went up just a tick in that broadcast network. Even if it meant that pumpkin beer sales went down.

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 7

 

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lbs dried black beans
  • ½ sweet white onion diced
  • 1 large carrot chopped
  • 1 large red bell pepper chopped
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 12 ounces smoked stout or porter
  • 4 cups broth vegetable or beef
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbs Gochujang Korean hot sauce*
  • 1 large avocado diced
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

  • Add the beans, onions, carrots, bell pepper, tomato paste, beer, broth, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika and hot sauce to a slow cooker, stir to combine.
  • Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours, stir occasionally if possible.
  • Ladle into bowls, top with avocado and cilantro before serving.

Notes

--Gojuchang is a Korean hot sauce that is easy to find in the Asian section of most major super markets, even Target. It's sweet, spicy and smokey.
--You don't need to pre soak the beans, the beer does a great job of breaking them down and making them creamy inside.
-- If you have time, sautéing the onions, carrots and bell peppers for 10 minutes before adding to the slow cooker will improve the final flavor.

I use this slow cooker (affiliate link).

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 2

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Comments


Katrina November 12, 2015 um 4:55 am

I learn so much from this blog! I’ve never had legit Harvest beer before and now I feel like I NEED it!! Holy smokes! Also, this soup looks incredible. I’m definitely using my slow cooker a lot this fall already and plan on using it more 🙂

Reply

Jackie November 12, 2015 um 9:18 am

They are so amazing. Completely worth a try if you see one. They will be gone by the end of the year so next time you’re at a brewpub ask if they have any "Harvest beer" "wet hop" or "fresh hop" beer, it all means the same thing. I usually say "fresh hop"

Reply

Kurt November 12, 2015 um 9:37 am

What porters or stouts do you recommend for this dish? Looking forward to giving it a try!

Reply

Jackie November 12, 2015 um 9:46 am

I love a smoked porter or a chili infused stout. Stone makes a great smoked chipotle porter and Alaskan makes a great smoked porter. There are a bunch of chipotle stouts out there too.

Reply

Michelle Lahey November 12, 2015 um 1:46 pm

I love the idea of using a smoked stout in a soup like this! I normally don’t love smoked beers on their own, but love incorporating them in recipes, like chili.

Reply

Donna November 13, 2015 um 1:59 pm

How spicy (hot) will the Gochujang make this soup?

Reply

Jackie November 15, 2015 um 6:05 pm

It’s not that spicy. It’s more smokey and a little sweet.

Reply

Beth November 15, 2015 um 8:25 am

I hate living in a small town without access to a range of beers for a lot of your recipes.

Reply

Miranda June 8, 2019 um 12:19 pm

I tried this recipe and it was truly awesome. The beans get super smooth in the beer cook, and the flavor just can’t be beat. I made my own gojuchang sauce (I used Minimalist Baker’s recipe, since it is soy free and I have to avoid soy). This soup goes into heavy rotation in my house!

Reply

Jackie June 9, 2019 um 1:49 pm

I love hearing that! I’m impressed that you made your own gojuchang, great job!

Reply

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