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Borracho translates to “drunk” in English, so these are “Drunk Beans”.  I suppose they are called this because one of the ingredients is beer.  The alcohol cooks out and, honestly, I can’t detect the flavor of beer in the final soup.  I guess I include the beer out of habit.

The soup is very flavorful and satisfying.  It warms the heart, as any good soup or stew should.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried pinto beans

½ lb of Bacon

1 onion, chopped

2 jalapeños or serrano chilis, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 or 5 tomatoes, chopped (or a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes)

1 bottle of beer (I used Shiner Bock)

4 cups Chicken Broth (32 oz carton)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 cube of tomato bouillon

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ tsp salt

¼  cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)

Directions:

Wash and sort the beans.  Remove any shriveled beans and stones.

Presoak the beans.  You can soak them in water overnight or, you can use a faster method.  I prefer the fast method.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a rapid boil.  Add the dry beans and boil for two or three minutes.  Turn the heat off and cover the pot.  Allow the beans to soak for an hour.  Reserve 1 cup of the water from the beans and drain the rest of the soaking water. 

Put the beans in a 7 quart Dutch oven (or a large oven-proof pot).

Cook the bacon in a pan.  Don’t overcook it.  Remove the cooked bacon and keep bacon fat in the pan.  Chop the cooked bacon into ½ inch pieces and set aside.

Add the onions, jalapeños and garlic to the pan and simmer on medium heat.  Stir until the onions are softened…about 3 minutes.

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Add all of the ingredients to beans in the Dutch oven, except for the lime juice.  Stir to combine.  Cover the Dutch oven and cook on the stove top at low heat for 4 or 5 hours.  Stir every hour, or so.  When the beans have softened, the soup is ready to eat.  Turn off the heat and add the lime juice.