Texas | cfdr - 3/3/2020 09:31
I posted about making bean soup earlier. Everyone loves it - probably because of all the side pork (and fat). It's simple - pinto beans, side pork, onions, salt, and a few of the hot yellow peppers - not the sweeter ones. The key to pinto beans is to buy good ones. If you can, try buying them from Mexican stores and not Safeway, Walmart, etc. There can be a big difference. Then, before you start to put ingredients together, soak the beans overnight. The next day, bring them to a boil, drain them, and repeat this at least three more times. This will practically eliminate the gas produced when you eat them. OK, maybe just substantially reduce it at least. (G). When you fry the side pork (or bacon), fry it to where it would be fairly crisp when dried, and pour the pork pieces - AND most of the fat - into the pot of beans. How much depends on how fat the side pork (bacon) is, but don't be afraid to use the fat. Fry the onions to where the water is pretty much out and they are browning, and dump them into the pot. Add anywhere from 2-3 to a dozen of the hot yellow peppers, and let the pot simmer for awhile. It will actually be better the second day. Quantities? From memory - a pound and a half of pinto beans, a pound and a half of side pork, and an onion. Really simple - and, IMHO, the best beans you will ever eat. Even my youngest kid, who has always been extremely picky, looks forward to this when he comes home for a visit.
But, again, don't be afraid to pour in the pork fat after you fry the side pork.
My mom was really particular like you are about the source and quality of pinto beans. Like you, she’d carefully sort, clean, boil and rinse them multiple times. I had written down her meticulous pinto bean cooking instructions more than ten years ago, but after a house flood they were lost.
There’s a tiny and I mean “tiny” walk up/drive up restaurant in TX that has a name which might make folks unfamiliar with it think that they only sell grilled chicken. They offer a variety Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes as well as some American type menu items. But my main reason for mentioning them is their charro beans. Ho-lee-mo-lee those beans are some kind of serious awesomeness! Expensive for what little you get per serving, but oh so flavorfully good. Those little Hispanic ladies work really hard trying to keep up with the demand.
Edited by Pigpiggy 3/3/2020 12:17
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Traditional type Baked Beans
