Charro beans, a Mexican (and Tex-Mex) dish, combine hearty pinto beans with spices, vegetables, and the smoky essence of country ham. Whether enjoyed as a hearty main dish, a savory side, or a delicious dip with tortilla chips, these beans are sure to become a crowd favorite at your next gathering.
Boil First and then Slow Cook Charro Beans
This recipe for Charro Beans begins with fresh dried beans that are soaked overnight. In the morning, add them to a pot and boil them for about 30 minutes. Then, place them in a slow cooker and continue cooking the beans. Why the 2-step process? Dry beans contain a toxic substance called lectin that is only destroyed by high heat. Some slow cookers may not reach a high enough temperature to destroy it, so the beans are boiled first and then placed in the slow cooker to complete the cooking process. Although pinto beans have less lectin than high-lectin kidney beans, it is still good practice to boil them first to destroy the lectin.
Country Ham vs Bacon
This recipe uses country ham to enhance the flavor of the beans. If you’re not familiar with it, country ham is a salty, dry-cured, smoked ham that typically comes thinly sliced in a packet. When cooked on its own, this ham is both salty and chewy. However, you can easily substitute bacon for the country ham in this recipe. While some may argue that country ham offers a richer flavor than bacon, it’s a nice variation, as many charro recipes typically rely on bacon. That said, bacon is more widely available, so I’ve included substitution amounts in the recipe for your convenience.
Chicken Broth in Charro Beans
Another thing that imparts extra flavor to these beans is chicken broth. The beans are actually cooked in broth rather than water, making them more flavorful.
Vegetables
This recipe has tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, green onions, and garlic. You can add other peppers for a spicier taste if you like. Because these beans are simmered in a slow cooker, I chop the vegetables larger to withstand the long cooking time. Enjoy!
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Charro Beans
Equipment
- pot
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- ½ cup uncooked country ham pieces (or 8 slices bacon, chopped and cooked crispy)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ground
- 2 jalapenos, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 large Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, sliced
- cornstarch (optional) (see Note below)
Instructions
- Rinse the beans. Then add them to a medium-sized bowl, cover with water, and place a plastic wrap or a dinner plate to cover. Make the water level 2 inches over the beans. Soak overnight. The next day, pour off the water and rinse the beans.
- Place the beans into a large pot. Cover them with water. Place them on medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Drain. Place the beans into the slow cooker.
- Rinse the country ham to remove some of the salt and add it to the cooker. (If using bacon, add it along with 2-3 tablespoons bacon grease.) Then add the stock, onion, garlic, black and cayenne peppers, jalapeno, cumin, and tomatoes.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 7 hours.
- Add the cilantro and green onion for the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- When the beans are finished cooking, remove the country ham from the slow cooker and shred the lean meat into small pieces. Discard any fat or bone and return the lean meat to the beans.