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Mexican Cowboy Beans (Frijoles Charros)
Mexican frijoles charros, or cowboy beans, is a brothy stew of beans and a variety of meats, plus aromatics, tomatoes and sometimes chilies. The dish is said to originate with the charros, or cowboys, who worked on the ranches of northern Mexico and threw together ingredients they had on hand to cook a hearty meal. Pinto beans are commonly used, but during a visit to Mexico City, chef Luis Alberto Llanos Legorreta made us a version with black beans, along with no fewer than four different types of pork products. Our recipe is modeled on his, but we include only chorizo sausage and bacon in our stew, and garnish at the end with crushed chicharrones (fried pork rinds) for texture; if you don’t like them, feel free to skip them. Serve with warm tortillas.
6-8
Servings
Don’t forget to add 1 tablespoon salt when soaking the beans. The salt helps soften the beans’ skins so water more easily penetrates, producing more tender beans, faster.
1½ hours
plus soaking time for the beans
Ingredients
-
1
pound dried black beans
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Directions
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01In a large bowl, stir together 2 quarts water, the beans and 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain the beans and transfer to a Dutch oven. Add 7 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high; as it heats, use a wide, flat spoon to skim off and discard the scum that rises to the surface. Once boiling, reduce to medium-low, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 45 to 60 minutes.