How to prepare tasty Borracho Beans for your family? Photo Courtesy – Explore Cook Eat
Borracho beans, or “drunken” beans, are similar to Mexican Charro Beans but are simmered in beer, rather than water or broth, giving them a unique flavour. This flavour and mixture makes the dish delicious.
The Beans are heated below boiling point with beer. This process gives it a unique identity. It is also called as ‘Frijoles Borrachos’. The dish is a traditional Mexican food made of pinto beans. Other ingredients are like onion, garlic, bacon, chilli, cumin, bacon fat, whole chilli peppers etc. This cuisine is also found in Southern Texas area. In Mexico, black beans are often used in place of pinto beans. This food is also served with grilled beef.
Ingredients
1 pound dried pinto beans (2 cups)
5 sliced bacon
1 cup diced ham or sausages
5 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes or tomato pulp according to need
6 cups water (minimum)
Quarter cup of onion
Half-teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1 cup fresh chopped coriander leaves
Half teaspoon of cumin
Half teaspoon of paprika
Half teaspoon of oregano
Salt and pepper according to taste
10 oz dark beer (better to use Mexican beer if possible)
Read: Spicy Edamame Snack with Soy and Sesame Sauce
Preparation
(i) Wash beans well and add them in a large bowl with 6 cups of water, a small chunk of onion, bay leaf and half-teaspoon of salt. Boil the beans in a reduced heat (simmer) for 45 min. After boiling is completed, the beans will turn soft.
(ii) Keeping ¼ cup of the liquid inside the bowl drain out the excess liquid.
(iii) Take a large bowl with cooking oil, add the bacon and cook for about 7-8 minutes. After cooking is completed, remove some of the cooking oil. Then, add onion and garlic and cook the mixture until the onion becomes colourless. Add 1 cup of diced ham into the mixture with chopped tomatoes, peppers, coriander, oregano, paprika, cumin and cook for another 5 minutes.
(iv) Now, in this mixture, add the cooked beans with the liquid and Mexican beer. Cook the mixture in low heat (simmer) for 15 minutes approximately.
Your tasty dish of Borracho Beans is ready now. Serve it by garnishing with chopped coriander leaves.
Shalini Gupta is a teacher at New Delhi with multifarious talents. She has a deep passion for reading, writing, drawing, sketching etc. simultaneously with her teaching job. She is currently writing for Bigumbrella also.
