Frijoles charros is a Mexican dish made with beans, meat, and spices, traditionally cooked for many hours in a Dutch oven. Pinto beans, cured meat, onion, garlic, tomatoes, chili peppers, and coriander are common ingredients. Variations include using different meats and spices, and it can be made in a slow cooker or baked in a Dutch oven. It is typically served with rice and cornbread.
Frijoles charros, or cowboy beans, is a very simple dish made with beans and spices. Initially, the beans were cooked for a long time, until they were tender and had absorbed the flavors of the spices and vegetables added to the water in which they were cooked. One of the key ingredients in frijoles charros is meat, which is used more as a flavoring element than a substantial ingredient. There are adaptations of frijoles charros that use a lot of premade ingredients and make other substitutions, but the same basic recipe is almost always followed.
The origins of frijoles charros lie in Mexican cowboys who would work long days herding cattle. The dish was often started early in the day and left to cook for many hours in a Dutch oven or clay pot. Early recipes involve the use of many preserved ingredients so that they can be transported and stored for extended periods without going bad. Like dried beans, preserved ingredients have benefited from the long cooking times.
The main ingredient in charros frijoles is beans. Most recipes call for pinto beans, although black beans or any type of robust bean can be used. For a dish that takes many hours to cook, using dried beans can help add depth, because they’ll have plenty of time to absorb all the supporting flavors. Canned beans or pre-cooked beans can be used, although they only need to be cooked for a short time so they don’t get too soft and potentially mushy.
An important flavoring element in frijoles charros is a type of meat. Some common choices are bacon, salt pork, chorizo, and ham hocks. The meat used is generally cured, smoked, or preserved in some way. This can help add flavor to the liquid it’s stewed in over time.
Other ingredients include onion, garlic, tomatoes and chili peppers. Coriander is also added, although it can be omitted for those people who don’t like its taste. All ingredients are added to a pot and then cooked for several hours, unless canned beans are used, in which case the dish just needs to cook until all ingredients are cooked through.
Variations on the dish include adding tomato sauce, using different types of meat in the same pot, and using spices like cumin and chili powder. Frijoles charros can also be made in a slow cooker or baked in a Dutch oven. When cooked, the beans should be soft but not mushy and there should be some liquid left in the pot. Common side dishes are rice and cornbread, especially if the cornbread is made in a cast iron skillet.
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