Charro Beans

Inspired by El Norte - Plano, TX

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Growing up in Texas, you expect to see rice and beans on your plate at every Mexican restaurant. At most places you’re likely to see refried beans in this mix. However, sometimes you’ll come across the far more flavorful Charro Beans, or Frijoles Charros, or sometimes “Cowboy Beans”. These resemble more of a stew and should be cooked as such. However, once the broth reduces you’ll be left with a creamy, thick coating which can stand alone as it’s own dish or fantastic side for Mexican food, BBQ, or Southern cuisine.

INGREDIENTS

CHARRO BEANS:

  • 1 lb dry pinto beans

  • 12 oz thick cut bacon, cut into ½ inch strips

  • 1 ½ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)

  • 2 diced jalapeños, stemmed and seeded (or leave some seeds for heat)

  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 ½ lbs roma tomatoes

  • 6 cups chicken low/no sodium stock

  • 2 bay leaves

  • ½ TBS salt

  • Pepper to taste

  • Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

GO FOR IT

CHARRO BEANS:

  1. In a large bowl, cover dry beans in lots of water (they will quadruple in size) at least 8 hours or overnight

  2. When beans have soaked, drain and rinse, then set aside

  3. On a cast iron skillet or grill, char tomatoes over high heat on all sides until skin easily peels away

  4. When done, discard skin, then dice tomatoes and set aside

  5. In a dutch oven or large pot, cook bacon over medium heat while stirring, until fat is rendered and bacon is browned (about 5 minutes)

  6. Add diced onion and jalapeños and cook until softened (about 4-5 minutes more)

  7. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds

  8. Add tomatoes and stir until mix starts to sizzle (about 3-4 minutes)

  9. Add chicken stock, beans, bay leaves, salt, and bring to a boil, then down to a simmer

  10. Cover beans and cook for 2 hours at a simmer

  11. Uncover beans, and continue simmering for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally, adding pepper to taste (liquid will reduce uncovered and bean mix will become a thickened broth)

  12. Taste beans to make sure they are fully cooked before serving, adding salt and pepper if needed, and removing bay leaves before serving

  13. When beans are cooked and mix is creamy and thickened, remove from heat and chopped cilantro to pot and stir (it will wilt and mix in well)

  14. Beans will continue to thicken when removed from heat, allow to cool for 10 minutes and thicken before serving

NOTES:

You can use canned fire roasted tomatoes if you don’t want to take the time to char up some fresh but as always, I try to do things from scratch whenever possible.

One thing you really shouldn’t do though is substitute dry beans with canned beans. Dried beans are going to soak up far more broth and flavor during the overall cooking process and it will make a ton of difference.

Cooking time may vary. These took about 4 hours to get to a doneness and consistency I was looking for but it could take more or less depending so just be sure to check on things every now and then and you’ll know when they’re ready by taste alone.