During my Texas summers, we spent most of our warm evenings in backyard cookouts. The air conditioner in our home did nothing to cool us off inside so dinnertime was immediately transported outdoors.
Equipped with mosquito candle repelents and bug zappers, our outdoor set up included a grill sizzling with steaks, a cooler stocked with beer, a table served with guacamole and salsa-filled molcajetes, and at the center of our table, a giant pot of borracho beans.
Adding to the heat of our kitchen, the beans simmered for about 90 minutes if soaked overnight. Sometimes, we would dust off the slow cooker and cook them there instead. Homemade tortillas were a big deal so as we waited for the beans to cook, we’d mix the masa made with Maseca, grill to heat up a comal and begin pressing our own tortillas. So many great memories were created around that grill. We’d spent hours just sitting around and laughing until the sun set and we dozed off on any chair we could find.
Enjoy your summer with homemade tortillas and a big bowl of borracho beans. They make the perfect accompanyment to any carne asada or will make you the life of the party at any office potluck or picnic.
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
- 12 cups water
- 12 ounce beer
- 1 pound bacon, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- Salt to taste
- 1 Serrano pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a large 5-quart stock pot over medium heat, combine beans, water and beer. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low. Cover pot and cook for 1 ½ hours.
- In a medium frying pan, fry onion and chopped bacon until crispy.
- Stir in garlic, salt, Serrano pepper, fried bacon and onion to the beans. Cook for 1 more hour.
- Remove from heat. Stir in chopped tomatoes, cilantro and serve with corn tortillas made with Maseca
