Headnote:
This is our house black bean charro recipe that my lovely bride and I have been honing for some while. We both love charro style beans, and draw inspiration from the many great charros we’ve had at restaurants in New Mexico and Texas. There’s no particular starting point to which credit should be assigned here; the preparation of these beans is very standard, no special tricks. We hope you enjoy!
Important: This recipe calls for using pre-existing smoked pulled pork. How you obtain that is up to you and not covered in this recipe. The smoky note from the pulled pork is essential to this dish.
Makes or Serves:
Makes approximately 5 quarts/4.7L of finished beans
Cooking Time:
At least a couple of hours, but we typically let it simmer on low heat for many hours, stirring often. Does not include time cooking the pulled pork, it’s assumed it’s a leftover from another cook.
Special Tools:
We prefer a Dutch oven but any hefty pot should do the trick. At one step an immersion blender comes in handy if you have one. Need the ability to produce the pulled pork.
Ingredients:
1 pound/450g dried black beans
2 tablespoons/30ml kosher salt
8 strips thick cut bacon, cut crosswise into ¼ inch/0.5cm pieces, about 12 ounces/340g
1 medium onion, diced
2 jalapeños or other medium-heat pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced (We use Roasted Hatch Green Chile that we freeze into ¼ cup/60ml portions)
2 teaspoons/10ml minced garlic (~2 medium cloves)
1 ~14.5-ounce/~400g can diced fire roasted tomatoes with liquid
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
1 teaspoon/5ml adobo sauce from can of chipotles
6 cups/1.4L chicken stock (see note on salt below)
1 teaspoon/5ml dried oregano
½ teaspoon/2.5ml cumin
Pinch kosher salt
2 bay leaves
½ pound/225g Smoked Pulled Pork
Method:
Prepare. Soak the dried beans in a large bowl in 8 cups/~2L of water plus the kosher salt. Let stand 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
Cook
Note on salt: Salt the soaking water, but don’t add more than the pinch of salt in step 4 until after adding the pulled pork because the salt from the chicken stock and the pork will vary. Salt to taste only after some cooking down in the pot a while.
Service
Great side dish for many things, especially Mexican food, but not limited there at all. Can serve with a bit of shredded cheese on top, or some diced white onion, or cilantro, as you like it.
And if you're wondering about the name, it comes from a splendid, evocative song by James McMurtry called "Vaquero", from his 2021 release The Horses And The Hounds.
Mira vaquero (Look here, cowboy)
Se pone el sol (The sun is setting)
Buen caballero, viajando con Dios (Fine gentleman, going with God)
Mira vaquero
No miramos atrás (We don't look back)
Nos vamos al campo (Let's go to the country)
Una vez mas, una vez mas (One more time, one more time)
This is our house black bean charro recipe that my lovely bride and I have been honing for some while. We both love charro style beans, and draw inspiration from the many great charros we’ve had at restaurants in New Mexico and Texas. There’s no particular starting point to which credit should be assigned here; the preparation of these beans is very standard, no special tricks. We hope you enjoy!
Important: This recipe calls for using pre-existing smoked pulled pork. How you obtain that is up to you and not covered in this recipe. The smoky note from the pulled pork is essential to this dish.
Makes or Serves:
Makes approximately 5 quarts/4.7L of finished beans
Cooking Time:
At least a couple of hours, but we typically let it simmer on low heat for many hours, stirring often. Does not include time cooking the pulled pork, it’s assumed it’s a leftover from another cook.
Special Tools:
We prefer a Dutch oven but any hefty pot should do the trick. At one step an immersion blender comes in handy if you have one. Need the ability to produce the pulled pork.
Ingredients:
1 pound/450g dried black beans
2 tablespoons/30ml kosher salt
8 strips thick cut bacon, cut crosswise into ¼ inch/0.5cm pieces, about 12 ounces/340g
1 medium onion, diced
2 jalapeños or other medium-heat pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced (We use Roasted Hatch Green Chile that we freeze into ¼ cup/60ml portions)
2 teaspoons/10ml minced garlic (~2 medium cloves)
1 ~14.5-ounce/~400g can diced fire roasted tomatoes with liquid
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
1 teaspoon/5ml adobo sauce from can of chipotles
6 cups/1.4L chicken stock (see note on salt below)
1 teaspoon/5ml dried oregano
½ teaspoon/2.5ml cumin
Pinch kosher salt
2 bay leaves
½ pound/225g Smoked Pulled Pork
Method:
Prepare. Soak the dried beans in a large bowl in 8 cups/~2L of water plus the kosher salt. Let stand 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
Cook
- Add the bacon to a Dutch oven or large pot and cook over medium high heat, stirring often, 7 to 9 minutes until fat is rendered and bacon is starting to crisp.
- Add the onions and jalapeños; cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and starting to soften. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce; cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to bubble.
- Stir in the beans, chicken stock, oregano, cumin, bay leaves and pinch of salt into the tomato mixture. Increase the heat to high, stirring occasionally, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmering, cover and cook, 40 minutes, stirring often.
- Transfer 3 cups of beans to a shallow bowl. Mash beans until smooth with small chunks. Use an Immersion hand blender if you have one. Return the mashed beans to the pot.
- Add Smoked Pulled Pork to pot. Increase heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, 40 minutes or until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
Note on salt: Salt the soaking water, but don’t add more than the pinch of salt in step 4 until after adding the pulled pork because the salt from the chicken stock and the pork will vary. Salt to taste only after some cooking down in the pot a while.
Service
Great side dish for many things, especially Mexican food, but not limited there at all. Can serve with a bit of shredded cheese on top, or some diced white onion, or cilantro, as you like it.
And if you're wondering about the name, it comes from a splendid, evocative song by James McMurtry called "Vaquero", from his 2021 release The Horses And The Hounds.
Mira vaquero (Look here, cowboy)
Se pone el sol (The sun is setting)
Buen caballero, viajando con Dios (Fine gentleman, going with God)
Mira vaquero
No miramos atrás (We don't look back)
Nos vamos al campo (Let's go to the country)
Una vez mas, una vez mas (One more time, one more time)
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