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Friday, June 15, 2012

Frijoles Borrachos (Drunken Beans)

I hope with all of my heart that you have experienced the scent of onions sautéeing in bacon grease.  There's not much like it in this world.

Involuntary sounds of ecstasy can be heard escaping from the lips of all who are near.  A breath pulled quickly through open lips and closed teeth.  A combination moan and sigh usually accompanied by closed eyes and raised shoulders.  Reactions that are emitted even when you've smelled the aroma before.  Many times over.  They're involuntary.
And lucky for me, that's what I get to experience every time I make a batch of these beans.  My favorite beans.  Thick and hearty and laden with porky goodness.  Sexy chunks of roasted poblanos, crimson tomatoes, and golden onions.   Musky, yeasty undertones of beer.

Along with some Mexican Rice, these make a wonderful accompaniment to a platter of tacos, crispy chimichangas, or even a simple grilled chicken sandwich.  But I always find myself heating up the leftovers and scooping them up with some lightly charred corn tortillas for lunch the following day.  As a meal.

They're just that good.

Frijoles Borrachos (Drunken Beans)

by Heather Schmitt-González
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1¾ hour - 2¾ hour
Keywords: simmer side entree beans pork beer Mexican

Ingredients (serves 6-8)
  • 1 lb. dry pinto beans
  • 4 oz. fatty pork shoulder, cut into ½" cubes
  • 1 c. beer
  • 7 c. water
  • 8 slices thick bacon (~12 oz.), cut into ½" pieces
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 large poblano chiles, roasted & peeled, seeded & chopped
  • 1 (15 oz.) can fire-roasted, diced tomatoes w/ juices
  • ~1 tsp. salt
  • ½ c. roughly chopped cilantro
Instructions
Place beans in a large pot and cover by a couple of inches with water. Remove any that float. Soak overnight, if you have time. Or do a quick-soak by bringing to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit 1 hour. Drain and rinse.

Put soaked beans back in the pot along with the pork, beer, and water. Slowly bring to a boil. Partially cover, then reduce heat and simmer over medium-low, stirring from time to time until beans are tender. This can take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours, depending on the freshness of your beans.

In the meantime, fry bacon in a medium skillet over medium-low heat until almost crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain and set aside. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and raise heat to medium. Add onion and chiles and fry until the onion is a deep golden brown, ~8-10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add tomato mixture, reserved bacon, and salt to the beans. Simmer, stirring from time to time for 20-30 minutes, allowing flavors to meld.

When ready to serve, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stir in cilantro. Enjoy!

adapted from Authentic Mexican
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Would you like to comment?

  1. Steph@PlainChicken.comJune 15, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    WOW - these beans look incredible!

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  2. A new and great way to prepare beans for me. It sure looks delicious and satisfying.

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  3. oh that looks so rustic and fabulous! i love this recipe! thanks for sharing!

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  4. Your words describe these beans so perfectly that I don't even need the photos to know that I need to make them asap. Nice post!

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  5. I love beans,heather! They are one of my favorite ingredients and a Colombian cuisine staple. Love this recipe.

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  6. The Old-Fashioned HousewifeJune 15, 2012 at 1:02 PM

    These look fantastic. i am a fan of all things Mexicano and I love a new frijoles recipe. Found you through Foodie Fridays, will definitely be pinning this for future use. Thanks!

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  7. Just talking about that heavenly aroma gave me a grumble in my belly! Those beans look awesome - I love the texture that I can see with the chiles and tomatoes and beans and...ok, I have to stop talking about this - otherwise I'll need to make it, like, now!

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  8. El nombre es muy curioso y el aspecto es sensacional.

    Saludos

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  9. A Spoonful of ThymeJune 15, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    I love drunk beans! I am going to give your recipe a try this week end.

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  10. These look amazing; we makes several similar combinations but without any pork fat.

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  11. what lovely name! I love it!

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  12. Delicious! And you are so right about onions cooking in bacon. I also feel that way about onions cooking in roux. Thanks for the suggestions about the bean-chorizo sub--they sound really good.

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  13. Bacon and Onions do indeed make a wonderful odor. I like your recipe. I usually do the onions and bacon and then throw them all in the crockpot. Next time I'll add the beer and the poblano.

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  14. Mmm... bacon! And beer! This recipe is a Canadian's dream come true. Wonderful!

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  15. Tessa@ Tessa the Domestic DivaJune 18, 2012 at 4:50 AM

    I have been wanting to try my own drunken beans...jsut haven't gotten around it to it, and now with a my pressure cooker and this recipe, I will make it happen!! Thank you! Perfect heather!

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  16. Joanne @ eats well with othersJune 18, 2012 at 4:50 AM

    I want to come over to your place just so i can smell that smell! I'm sure it's dreamy.

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  17. I've eaten something like this in a Cuban restaurant. Looks really satisfying. Thanks for sharing it on foodie friday.

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  18. Those sound soooo scrumptious! I could see myself enjoying a bowl with some crispy tortilla chips on the side. Yummm.

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  19. I love how creamy the beans look in the picture with the ladle. I have no doubt these are amazing! You know I love 'em.

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  20. I want one bowl now! It looks incredibly delicious!

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  21. I can almost smell it cooking from your post. ;-) These look fabulous.

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  22. Oh wow, these sound good! My mouth is watering thinking of the smell of onions sautéing in bacon grease...

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  23. Congrats your beans are being featured today on foodie friday. Stop by and pick up your featured button. Thanks again for joining us.

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  24. Oh yeah, I could see eating those on tortillas with eggs the next morning!

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  25. I made these! Delicious. Used pork steak instead of shoulder.

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