Frijoles de olla (Pot Beans)

Beans, like rice, are not originally from Mexico; however, you wouldn't be able to tell that by the amount of them eaten in Mexico. (In fact, it was not until I came to Canada that I found out beans weren't Mexican in origin!)

Basically every family has its own recipe for pot beans, and often this recipe is a well-guarded secret (especially if the recipe is good). However, the whole point of this site (and the web in general) is about sharing, so here is my "secret" recipe. Please note that I don't measure, so quantities are only made-up guidelines; everything is "to taste."

This is a huge amount of beans, enough for about 12 people. Since I have beans often, I like making large amounts and reheat the beans as needed. This is also the basis for frijoles refritos (well-fried beans).

Ingredients

800g dried beans (see note), rinsed

chicken stock, at least enough to double the volume of the beans (about 10 cups)

1/2 small white onion

1 large or 2 medium links of Mexican chorizo

4 slices bacon

2 large cloves garlic

1 tsp pork lard or olive oil

Place the beans in a pressure cooker and fill the pot with stock. (If not using a pressure cooker, see note.) Add the onion as a single piece, the bacon and the chorizo. Cook the beans for about 15 minutes at full pressure.

Once the cooker has de-pressurized, take about a cup of beans (they should be mostly cooked, but still have some give) and puré them along with the garlic. Heat the lard or oil and fry the bean puré over high heat until it is rather dry. Return the cooked bean puré to the pressure cooker.

Taste the bean broth and add salt if necessary, then cook the beans again for about 5 minutes at full pressure.

Pot beans are best served in bowls, like a hearty soup. They are a great side dish for meats, especially pork, and I think they should always be eaten with warm tortillas.

Notes

The most common beans used in Mexican cooking are "negros" (black) or "bayos" (California pink). While it is possible to get pink beans in Toronto, I have found very few places that carry them, and the number is diminishing. Nowadays, I only see them at Latin Emporium in Kensington market. Black beans, on the other hand, are very easy to get and are available in most supermarkets. You can use pinto or red kidney beans, also abundantly available, but in my opinion they don't make as good pot beans.

Do not leave the cooked beans at room temperature for too long. Besides growing bacteria, beans that are left out too long will start to turn sour. This is the reason why, when I go to Mexican places that have beans out for the day, I skip the beans.

If you don't have a pressure cooker (or decide not to use it), I think the second best option is to use a slow cooker. It's hard to give timings for the slow cooker, but basically you want to cook the beans until they are tender but not mushy, add the bean puré and salt, then cook until soft. Alternatively, you can use a large pot (or even an earthenware pot, if you want to be a die-hard traditionalist), but you will have to watch it to make sure the liquid doesn't evaporate and the beans burn. In this case, it is a good idea to keep a kettle with boiling water, in case you need to add any.

If you are alarmed at the amount of bacon, you can of course reduce the number of slices, or skip the bacon altogether. In the latter case, make sure you add about 1/3 cup of olive oil. Also, if you find the taste too rich for you, use one of the chorizo or bacon, or again reduce the number of slices to your liking.

The 2 places where I would get my chorizo are El Trompo or La Tortilleria. I also get it from friends of my mother's who make their own chorizos, but this is less and less so.

As an alternative to using chicken stock, I use the same quantity of water at the beginning, and add Mexican Knorr chicken bouillon at the time of the second cooking. You can also use pork stock, in which case you will want to forgo the bacon, but you might want to add some pork lard or olive oil.

I like the broth of my beans to be soupy. That is why I add the bean puré before the final cooking. This means that the broth will get thicker as time goes on, and you might have to add more stock or water, You can skip the addition of the bean pure, in which case the broth will start lighter; as you reheat the beans, the broth will thicken.