Jalisco Charro Bean Stew (Frijoles Charros)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart olla de barro or Dutch oven
• •Cast iron comal for toasting chiles
• •Blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Deep pozolero-style clay bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the beans

   Put the pinto beans on the table and pick through them with your hands. Remove stones, cracked beans, and anything that does not belong. Rinse well, cover with plenty of cool water, and soak 8 hours or overnight. This is not drama. Good beans cook evenly because someone took two minutes to sort them.

2. 2

   Start the pot

   Drain the soaked beans and place them in a heavy olla or Dutch oven with 10 cups fresh water and the pork ribs. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Skim the gray foam during the first 15 minutes. Keep the bubbles lazy, not violent. Beans split when you bully them.

3. 3

   Simmer until tender

   Partially cover and cook 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, until the beans are tender but still holding their shape and the pork is beginning to loosen from the bone. Add hot water if the liquid drops below the beans. Frijoles charros are brothy. If you wanted paste, you would be making refritos.

4. 4

   Toast the chiles

   While the beans simmer, heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo and chile de arbol for a few seconds per side, just until fragrant and flexible. Do not blacken them. Burned chile makes bitter broth, and no amount of bacon will save it.

   Chile guajillo gives brick-red color and mild fruit. Chile de arbol gives sharper heat. They are not the same chile, and one does not replace the other cleanly.
5. 5

   Blend the chile

   Cover the toasted chiles with hot water and let them soften for 15 minutes. Drain, then blend with 1 cup of bean broth from the pot until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. You want the flavor of the chile, not skins floating in the bowl.

6. 6

   Fry the base

   In a skillet, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until the fat renders and the edges turn crisp. Add the manteca de cerdo, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin. Cook until the onion softens and smells sweet, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they collapse into a rough sauce. La manteca es el sabor. Vegetable oil will cook the onion, yes, but it will not give you this broth.

7. 7

   Fry the chile

   Pour the strained chile puree into the bacon and tomato base. It will sputter. Stir and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the color darkens and the fat starts to show around the edges. This is where the chile stops tasting raw. No me vengas con atajos.

8. 8

   Finish the stew

   Scrape the fried base into the bean pot. Add the salt and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the broth tastes like pork, beans, and chile together, not separate ingredients. Add the epazote during the last 10 minutes only. Taste for salt after the broth reduces. Beans hide salt, then reveal it all at once.

9. 9

   Serve brothy

   Remove the epazote sprig. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Ladle the beans, pork rib, and broth into deep bowls. Put raw white onion, lime halves, and warm corn tortillas on the table. Eat with a spoon first and tortillas after. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy dried pinto beans from a store with turnover. Old beans can sit in a pantry for years and never soften properly. Ask the women at the market which sack came in recently. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •If you find frijol bayo from Jalisco, use it. Pinto is the practical bean outside Mexico and it behaves well in this pot. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade, but this one is honest.
• •Do not turn this into a meat parade. Some modern versions throw in hot dogs, ham, chorizo, and whatever else was in the refrigerator. That is a different pot. This version keeps pork rib, bacon, chile, tomato, and epazote in balance.
• •Epazote is not decoration. It belongs with beans because it cuts through their heaviness and gives the broth that green, mineral note. If you cannot find it fresh, look for it dried in a Mexican market. Use 1 teaspoon dried and add it in the last 10 minutes.
• •Serve with corn tortillas, not flour tortillas. Flour tortillas are a northern tradition. Jalisco knows the comal and the corn tortilla.

Advance Preparation

• •The beans can be soaked overnight, drained, and refrigerated up to one day before cooking.
• •The chile, bacon, and tomato base can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Stir it into the beans during the final simmer.
• •Frijoles charros keep refrigerated for four days. Reheat gently with a splash of water because the beans continue drinking the broth as they sit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 460g)