I’ve been trying all the stuff you’re supposed to try in the Instant Pot, but I’ve also just been throwing in whatever’s in my pantry and freezer, which is…a lot of stuff.

Since I discovered that frozen foods can be cooked to perfection by adding a couple of minutes to the cook time, I’ve been much more willing to just throw shit in there and see what works. What’s the worst that could happen? I end up with deliciously cooked foods but the dish is slightly not what I planned? I can live with that.

So, I decided to make black bean soup. I knew I had some bacon pieces in the freezer in a bag marked “Bacon for split pea soup or something”, meaning it couldn’t be sliced for one reason or another, so I thought that would be perfect. But alas, I couldn’t find it! Then, my eye fell on a large chunk of pork belly I had in there. I had such great success with the frozen chicken, I thought, why not.

I took the entire chunk of pork belly, frozen, and put it right into the Instant Pot along with the rest of it. The result? Fall off the bone meat that I simply shredded into the soup with a fork. Oh, Instant Pot. You had me at pork belly.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. black beans, soaked for 12 hours or overnight
• 1 lb. pork belly, frozen is fine
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbls. cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• salt to taste
• about a quart of stock, chicken, beef, veggie, whey, water…whatever ya got.
• avocado and cilantro to serve

Preparation:

1. drain beans and place in the Instant Pot. Add pork belly, onion, garlic, spices and top with the stock.
2. Close the pot and set it on manual for 45 minutes, 35 if the pork belly isn’t frozen.
3. Allow to cool using natural release.
4. Remove the pork belly, carefully, and shred with a fork.
5. Add back into the soup.
6. Top with avocado chunks and cilantro and serve immediately.

This also makes a lot, keeps well, freezes well, and tastes better and better the longer it sits.