Some recipes are made in thirty minutes. Borracho beans invite you to slow down. They bubble away quietly while the house fills with the smell of bacon, onions, and beer, becoming less of a recipe and more of an event. They’re a small celebration of being present, of slowing down, checking on the pot every now and then, and spending a Sunday with the people and dogs you love. By supper, the entire house smells like home.
Ingredients
Serves 12
- 1 pound dried pinto beans; water
- 8 ounces bacon, diced
- 1 small onion and 1 jalapeño, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon each ancho chili powder, Mexican oregano, and kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 12 ounces dark lager
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
For finishing: Keep lime wedges and extra cilantro nearby, along with hot cornbread.
Saturday Night Prep
Sort beans; soak 8 hours under 3 inches of water. Drain and rinse.
Sunday Morning
Cover beans with 10 cups fresh water. Boil, then simmer, covered, 2 to 2½ hours until tender. Drain.
Optional: Keep the Roasted Poblano
For the roasted-pepper touch from my earlier version, blacken a poblano over a gas flame or under the broiler. Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, remove the seeds, chop, and add with the cooked beans.
Cook the Bacon
Crisp bacon in a Dutch oven; reserve.
Build the Flavor Base
Soften onion and jalapeño in bacon fat, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and seasonings, 30 seconds.
Into the Pot
Add beans, tomatoes, beer, and sugar. Simmer 15 minutes; add water as needed. Stir in bacon and cilantro.
A Richer Finish
Keep the thickening trick from the original recipe if you like a fuller broth: blend a portion of the beans with a little liquid, then stir it back into the pot. Leave plenty of beans whole for texture.
Final Adjustment
Taste before adding more salt. Bacon and reduction both contribute saltiness. Finish with a squeeze of lime if you like.
The Shortcut
Substitute four drained, rinsed 15-ounce cans of pintos; skip soaking and initial cooking.
Adapted from Isabel Orozco-Moore’s Borracho Beans at Isabel Eats.
Serve
Ladle into bowls. Top with reserved crispy bacon, extra cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Serve beside hot cornbread.
Or better yet:
Place a chunk of cornbread in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the beans over it. Here I added 3 or 4 one inch by one inch cornbread squares and topped with too many green onions… but it sounded good at the time and oh lordy, it was!
