Yes, Chef! "Dad's Beans" A Pinto Bean Recipe for Taco Night!

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♪♪ Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you... ♪♪ I digress.

This is a version of the recipe my dad has been making for years, anytime we had carne asada and/or seasoned short ribs, you can bet his beans were cooking in the kitchen, and now this recipe is a staple in mine! Even though I have adapted this recipe to mine and my husband's liking, I still lovingly refer to it as "Dad's Beans".

As a native Southern California girl, I grew up around Mexican food and still crave it at least once a week. If you aren't familiar, Southern California is very diverse, a mixing pot of all different cultures. When I was 13, I had a best friend that was Mexican, and I'd spend days and nights at her house, when my parents permitted, or we'd go to her family parties in Santa Ana - I became immersed in her families culture. I remember tacos that had spicy, hot sauce with cooling, fresh lime and cilantro, meats griddled until they were slightly crispy, a cheesy potato dish that rivals Patatas Bravas (a Spanish potato recipe that is one of my faves), Mexican rice, and of course, BEANS.

My friend and I would sit in her kitchen at 9:30pm and her mom would cook for us, always warm tortillas and Valentina hot sauce on the table. The smell of spices and lard melting in a pan are engrained in my mind, to this day. I remember one summer break my friend and I were up way later than we should have been and I was feeling peckish, so I went to the kitchen and opened her fridge, there was what looked like a big block of white cheese on a plate (I love cheese), so I took it out and cut off a small bite... only it wasn't cheese... it was lard. I do not recommend eating lard al la carte - it does, however, add wonderful flavor to dishes!

So, when my dad started making Mexican food at home, I was thrilled!

These beans are a must-have for your next taco night, I'd even call them a comfort food... and who doesn't love comfort food?!

This recipe can be made in a Dutch Oven, Crock-Pot or Instant Pot - depends on how much time and attention you have to give to it. I have found that I love the Dutch oven method the most as the beans take on the texture of refried beans after hours of cooking, plus, I love the idea of a meal cooking the whole day, soaking up all the flavor and warmth.

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"Dad's Beans" (my version of my dad's pinto bean recipe)

Easy Cooking Tip: Use the Crock-Pot or Instant Pot to set it and forget it!

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 9 hours

Ingredients

• 1lbs dry pinto beans

• 5 cups beef broth

• 1/4 cup jalapeños from a jar (make sure no sugar added, omit if you don't like spicy food)

• 1/2 cup juice from jarred jalapeños

• 1/2 medium-sized, yellow onion, diced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 3 slices bacon, chopped

• 2-3 dried whole japonés peppers (omit if you don't like spicy food)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 TBSP Cumin

• 1/2 TBSP Black pepper

• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Put beans in a mixing bowl and cover until submerged in water by at least 3". Soak overnight or for 10 hours.

2. Drain and rinse beans.

3. In Dutch Oven over medium heat, sweat the bacon (sauté bacon until it releases fat, being careful not to cook through/crispy), remove bacon with slotted spoon, to a plate.

4. Add onion to Dutch Oven and sauté until mostly translucent, about 7 minutes.

5. Add jalapeños and sauté for 1 minute.

6. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

7. Add beans, broth, jalapeño juice, bacon, bay leaf, cumin, black pepper, and salt to taste.

8. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer for 9 hours, check liquids in pot each hour and add a ladle of water if becoming too dry. For thicker beans, don't add water during the last 1.5 hours of cooking.

Ladle into small bowls or ramekins and serve as is or fancy them up with onions and cilantro.

Crock-Pot: Cook on low for 9 hours or high for 7 hours, check liquids every couple hours or add an extra cup of water when beginning cooking to "set it and forget it".

Instant Pot: No need to soak beans but please rinse! Use sauté setting and follow steps 1-7, the use manual setting to set for 60 minutes, let pressure release naturally for 30 minutes.

Vegan: Omit bacon and use 1TBSP avocado oil to sauté vegetables, use vegetable broth instead of beef broth.

LESSON(S) LEARNED: I often hear people say that they don't know how to cook but one thing I've learned about cooking is that it is pretty hard to mess up, unlike baking, it isn't an exact science. I have made this recipe at least 20 times, each batch tastes a little different, which I love. “Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science.” – Claude Bernard

I hope you try this recipe, let me know what you think if you do!