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CHOW: Recipes: Cowboy Pinto Beans

Cowboy Pinto Beans Recipe

From: The Big Book of Barbecue Sides , by
Makes: 6 to 8 servings

These beans taste like you’re on the Chisholm Trail fresh from a cattle drive. They’re a bunch of work, but they’re worth it, for the flavor is straight from the Old West—other than the Worcestershire sauce, that is.

Tip: Julia Child’s method of soaking beans is to cover them with plenty of water and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover tightly, and let sit for 1 hour. Then drain and cook as usual.

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound dried pinto beans, debris removed, soaked overnight, and drained (see the Tip)
  • 1/4 pound salt pork
  • 8 cups water, plus more as needed
  • 1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes with juice
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 jalapeño chile peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce or ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Wash and pick over the beans, removing wrinkled or shrunken beans.
  2. Make several cuts into the salt pork down to, but not through, the rind.
  3. Combine the beans, salt pork, water, tomatoes, garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, chile peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and barbecue sauce in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook very slowly, covered, stirring the beans up from the bottom occasionally and adding water if they start looking dry.
  4. Cook for at least 2 hours. When the beans are soft (not mushy) but still hold their shape, they are done. Serve hot.

This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food team.

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POST A COMMENT |5 Comments

COMMENT

  • I think as long as you add some Chow-Chow relish to these beans it doesn't matter which derivative of the recipe is used!

  • Was a little surprised with the BBQ sauce myself. Doesn’t bbq sauce already have garlic, Worcestershire, cumin, chili powder, onion and ketchup in it? For a smoky flavor I’d go with DiveFan’s suggestion and use bacon. Otherwise, I think the recipe sounds great.

  • E_N is correct, sweetened tomatoes are Not right for this dish even in Texas. Leave the tomatoes/BBQ sauce/ketchup OUT!
    I prefer to soak the beans overnight first, then pour off the soaking water.
    OK to substitute bacon for the salt pork. Brown it first :-).
    Substitute one TBsp powdered chile of your choice instead of commercial 'chili' powder. I prefer guajillo.
    For an even simpler (and good)...+READ

    E_N is correct, sweetened tomatoes are Not right for this dish even in Texas. Leave the tomatoes/BBQ sauce/ketchup OUT!
    I prefer to soak the beans overnight first, then pour off the soaking water.
    OK to substitute bacon for the salt pork. Brown it first :-).
    Substitute one TBsp powdered chile of your choice instead of commercial 'chili' powder. I prefer guajillo.
    For an even simpler (and good) recipe, see 'The Tex-Mex Cookbook' by Robb Walsh. Pinto beans, water, period.
    Slow cook in a crock pot for ten hours, easy peasy.-COLLAPSE

  • Geeze, what a snob Eat_Nopal is... Looks great - thanks for the recipe! Will be trying it soon!

  • Barbecue sauce? *shudders. Some might like my recipe better:

    http://www.chowhound.com/topics/411697