CHARROS STILL RIDE WITH FUROR AROUND CONSERVATIVE GUADALAJARA.
Dressed to kill in silver-studded regalia, they’re show-offs to appreciative fans who pack horsering bleachers on weekends to watch rope tricks and riding stunts. Old traditions run deep in Jalisco. These beans, which were once cooked over fires on the open range by cowboy chefs, now bubble away on innumerable stovetops throughout the region (by folks wearing fancy sombreros, one would guess).
Senora Mendoza’s soupy pink beans are made with huge amounts of onion and tomatoes, and are enlivened with chorizo and serrano chile. These delicious beans are so soupy they are served in separate bowls alongside main-course plates. Her “would-be-cowboy” grandsons, two adorable six-year-old twins, eat more beans in one sitting than you could possibly imagine. They would gladly eat their hands-down favorite dish, frijoles charros, every day.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pink beans
- 3 bacon slices
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 2 fresh serrano chiles, stemmed and sliced
- 8 ounces chorizo, removed from casings
- 3 tomatoes, toasted (page 16 of cookbook) and peeled salt to taste
Instructions:
- Put the beans in a non aluminum (non-reactive) pot and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet. Remove the crisp bacon and drain on paper towels. Saute the onion and chiles in the bacon grease until the onion is transparent. Add the chorizo and cook together with the onion mixture until the onion is light brown and the sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Puree the tomatoes in a blender. Add the tomato puree to the bean pot. Add the skillet ingredients and cooked and crumbled bacon and mix.
- Cover and simmer 2 to 3 hours, or until the beans are tender. Cooking time depends on the age as much as the type of bean. When the beans have finished cooking, add salt to taste and serve in bowls with some of the cooking liquid.
Comments: Outstanding, also can be used in burritos