Charro Beans

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound dried pinto beans* (2 cups)

6 cups water (, or more if needed)

¼ of an onion

½ teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

5 slices bacon (, chopped)

5 ounces chorizo (or 2 sausages or hot dogs), chopped)

1 cup diced ham or sausages

½ of a yellow onion (, chopped)

3 cloves garlic (, minced)

2 tomatoes* (, diced)

1 jalapeno or serrano pepper (, seeded and chopped)

½ - 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (, chopped, optional, but recommended for a smoky spice*)

1 cup fresh chopped cilantro (about 1/2 bunch)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon Dried oregano

Salt and pepper (, to taste)

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon

Directions

Cook the Pinto beans:*

Pour dry beans into a colander and rinse them off, removing any unwanted pieces. Add to a large pot with 6 cups of water (or enough to cover them by about 2 inches), a small chunk of onion, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 hours, until the beans are tender, but not bursting. (Mine usually take about 1 hour but depends on how dry/old your beans are). Check them a few times during cooking to make sure they are covered in water and add a little more water if needed.

Once the beans are tender, drain them, reserving the liquid and pouring it into a measuring cup. Add additional water (or reduce liquid if needed) to make 2 ½ cups of total liquid. Stir in 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon. Set aside.

Make Charro beans:

Add the bacon and chorizo to a large pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until bacon is cooked. Remove some of the grease. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add ham (sausages, if using), diced tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, oregano, paprika, cumin, black pepper and cook for 5 additional minutes.

Add cooked beans and broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, or additional spices if needed. Garnish with cilantro before serving.

Serve as a main dish, wish warm tortillas, or as a side dish. When serving as a side dish I like to thicken the beans by adding a cornstarch slurry at the end (1 tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water).

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 338 kcal
• Total Fat: 11 g
• Saturated Fat: 4 g
• Cholesterol: 28 mg
• Sodium: 657 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 40 g
• Dietary Fiber: 10 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 20 g