Recipe and photo provided by Johnny Shipley, owner/chef of County Club restaurant
Borracho beans are a Tex-Mex standard that delivers big flavor with fresh herbs, dried and fresh chiles, and beer. While most versions contain some sort of protein (usually bacon), this is a vegan version adapted from the cookbook “Ama: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” by Josef Centeno and Betty Hallock. Dried cranberry beans work best here, and they need an overnight brine or a quick brine with salt and baking soda to reach their full texture and mouthfeel potential. *
Recipe serves 8-10. For a smaller crowd, adjust quantities accordingly.
Ingredients:
• 1 pound dried cranberry beans
• Brine (3 tablespoons salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 8 cups water)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 jalapeños, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 dried ancho chiles, deseeded and torn apart
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 4 cups beer (I use Coors, but any similar would work)
• 2 cups water
• 2 sprigs each thyme, oregano and rosemary
Directions:
In a large pot or Dutch oven (4 quarts or larger), add beans, salt, baking soda and water and stir. Let sit overnight and strain. (For a quick brine, bring to a simmer, turn off heat, cover one hour and strain.)
In your large pot or Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons oil, onion, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, ancho chiles and pinch of salt. Sweat aromatics while stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, cilantro, beans, beer, water, fresh herbs and a little more salt. As soon as everything comes to a simmer, turn down heat and partially cover, stirring occasionally until beans are just cooked.
Salt to taste and enjoy hot with some charred corn tortillas and a cold beer.
*Chef’s notes:
• If you want to nerd out on bean brine, there’s a great article on seriouseats.com called “Brining Beans With Baking Soda: An Investigation.”
• Ranchogorda.com is a great source to purchase heirloom beans.