Cowboy Beans
Smoky, thick BBQ beans with bacon, rendered in pork drippings from the roasting pan. Even better cooked directly on the charcoal parrilla to absorb smoke.
Ingredients
- 2 cansblack beans or pinto beans (or one of each), drained and rinsed
- 200 gbacon (cut into lardons)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 5 clovesgarlic (minced)
- 1 jalapeño or fresh chile (diced)
- 1 cupKC-style BBQ sauce (use the same sauce made for the pork)
- 2 tbspbrown sugar
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
- 1 tbspapple cider vinegar
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspcumin
- 1/2 cupchicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1
Render bacon lardons in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
10:00 - 2
Sauté diced onion in the bacon fat until soft and starting to brown, about 8 minutes.
08:00 - 3
Add minced garlic and diced chile. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring.
- 4
Add drained beans, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, cumin, and the defatted pork drippings or stock. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
- 5
Add the reserved crispy bacon back in. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until thick and glossy. If using the parrilla, place the pot on the grate at middle height.
45:00 - 6
Taste and adjust seasoning — add more vinegar if it needs brightness, more sugar if too sharp, salt last.
Notes
Do not rush the simmer; the long cook time is what makes them thick and cohesive, not soupy. For extra smoke flavor, put the pot directly on the parrilla grate at middle height. If they thicken too fast, add a splash of stock and keep going.
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Backyard BBQ Spread
The pork leg is the long pole, so build everything around it. Thaw it 2–3 days ahead and rub it the night before. Start its low-and-slow oven cook in the morning so it's ready to finish over charcoal at dinnertime — light the coals about 45 minutes before you carve. While the pork roasts, get the Cowboy Beans going: skim the rendered fat and dark drippings from the pork pan and use them to start the beans, then let them simmer for hours on the back of the stove (or the cool side of the grill). Save the cornbread for last — mix the batter while the pork rests after its charcoal finish, and bake it in a screaming-hot cast iron so it lands on the table fresh and steaming just as you carve. The chipotle hot sauce and garlic honey are both make-ahead condiments for the sauce bar — the honey needs at least a week fermenting on the counter, so start it early.
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