How To Make Black Bean And Bacon Succotash

As a child, “succotash” was always just something Sylvester said when he was frustrated. Turns out succotash is really a side dish recipe made from corn and lima beans.

Well I don’t particularly like lima beans. Black beans are pretty great, though. Hmm, corn and black beans … that’s starting to sound like my black bean and corn salsa recipe. Would that be good as a hot side dish? Only one way to find out!

Ingredients

1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1 can (15 ounces) whole kernel corn
½ pound bacon (thick-cut preferred)
½ medium red onion
salt and cumin, to taste
fresh lime

Directions

Let me start by saying that yes, you could totally do this with dry beans and fresh corn instead of canned. And this summer, when I can actually get fresh corn, maybe I’ll do that. Until then, canned is just fine.

Before you turn the stove on and start dicing, empty the beans and corn into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Leave the colander in the sink to drain while you get going on the rest.

Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces and toss it in a large frying pan on medium heat. It’s easier if the bacon is nearly frozen when you chop it.

Dice the onion and add it to the bacon.

Toss the onion and bacon together as it cooks until the onion is soft and the bacon starts browning.

Add the rinsed and drained beans and corn and toss together. Be careful, if it’s still wet it will pop and splatter when it hits the hot bacon grease.

Season with salt and cumin, about a teaspoon of each to start if you need to measure.

Cook over medium heat, tossing or stirring frequently, until the bacon is as crispy as you like and the beans are starting to crack.

Serve with wedges of fresh lime for each person to squeeze onto theirs just before eating.

And that’s it.

This works as a side dish for grilled chicken, steak or pork; on top of fresh greens as a warm salad; or with chips as a cooked salsa.