Beans with Chili Spices

This isn’t “beans meant to go in chili” nor is it “vegetarian chili,” but rather, beans made with spices similar to those I use when making chili. Rice and beans is something I eat fairly often, and this is just another variation on that theme.

Makes

8 - 10 servings

Hardware

• Large sauce pot

Ingredients

1	lb		pinto beans
			vegetable oil
1 - 2			onions, chopped
2	heads		garlic, minced
			mexican oregano (powdered)
			chili powder
			cumin (ground)
			chipotle powder
			salt
			beer

Procedure

1. Pick over the beans, wash them, then put them in a pot full of water and let them soak overnight.


2. Drain the beans.


3. Heat the oil then gently saute the onions until they’re almost soft and golden; try not to let them get brown.


4. Add the garlic and the spices and cook for one more minute.


5. If the spices are sticking to the pot, add just enough beer to scrape everything free; if nothing is sticking, dump the beans into the pot and stir until the oil is absorbed.


6. Add enough beer to cover the beans by about 1 inch; simmer (uncovered) until the beans are soft.

Notes

I use chipotle powder but any dried, powdered chile pepper will do; my other choice is ancho.

I think I typically use about 2 Tblsp each of Mexican oregano and cumin, about 1 Tblsp of chili powder, and a little less than 1 Tblsp of chipotle powder. However, I pay very little attention to how much spice I use so these quantities could be horribly inaccurate. I’m sorry, but this is one of those times you’re just going to have to work it out for yourself.

I recommend beer but (vegetable) stock would do just as well; I happen to prefer the taste from using beer.

I start with 2 or 3 bottles of beer then add water as needed. The idea is to end up with some liquid but not so much that it looks like soup.

If the liquid cooks down too much before the beans are done, add water (or beer or stock) then cover the pot.

Check frequently to see if the beans are done; this way, if you need to boil off some of the liquid, you won't over-cook the beans too badly.

Rating

Difficulty:		Very easy
Time:		3 hours plus time to soak the beans.
Precision:		1

Source

My own foolin’ around.