Frijoles Borrachos (Drunken Beans) Recipe (2024)

After years of cooking dried beans that had soaked overnight I finally learned from America's Test Kitchen to soak beans in salt water. The brine is 3 tblsp. table salt in 4 qts. cold water for 1 lb. beans. Soak for 8-24 hrs. Rinse well before cooking. Beans cook faster, more evenly, and the skins are soft but don't burst. (There's a simple chemistry to this.) The insides are uniformly creamy. Great results from a simple brining technique.

I find that adding highly acidic ingredients like tomato product in the beginning stages of bean cookery is a no-no. The whole "no salt" thing is certainly not true either. I recommend cooking any dried beans w/o any vinegar, citrus or tomato product until they are al-dente. If not, it has taken me closer to 3 hours to arrive at a tender bean. And of course, try to buy the freshest dried beans that you can. Old beans can take a lot longer to cook. I buy mine in the bulk food section.

I use the Cook's Illustrated tip of soaking in water with some baking soda to soften even old beans so they cook up creamy the next day (drain soak water, rinse and replace with fresh H2O). At high altitude, water boils at a lower temp (195 in my case) so this trick helps a lot. I add only garlic and bay leaves in cooking, and salt/pepper to taste in the bowl. And of course, red chili sauce.

Most mexicans cook these with mexican chorizo. The fat renders similar to bacon and has lots more spices that add depth to the frijoles. I would add chorizo or replace the bacon with chorizo.

Smoked paprika maybe or a touch of liquid smoke which are vegetarian.

I use ATK method too of brining beans in salt water and it really works great.

This is a good recipe for quantities but I recommend following the technique of Diana Kennedy, doyenne of Mexican cookery for charro beans. Cook the onion and garlic with the beans. Sauté the chopped bacon till nearly done but not crisp. Add the minced chilies and chopped tomatoes. Cook down for 5 minutes or so to blend flavors and then add the whole sprigs of cilantro. Add this mixture once the beans are just tender and simmer 10 minutes or so.

Mike: When you say dried beans don't have dates based on when grown and it doesn't matter anyway, that is incorrect in part. Some suppliers of excellent beans, like Rancho Gordo and Primary Beans have a "best by" date on their labels that is 2 years out from when the beans were packed. Since they package in the harvest year one, for beans with 2024 BB date one knows harvested in 2022. And fresher dried beans do cook up more evenly and typically faster too.

Tequila added toward the end actually imparts a really good flavor, no beer necessary.

these are outstanding. no need for the overnight soak. just put in a slow cooker. serve topped with some thinly chopped cabbage, cilantro and fresh lime. not sure why theres so much angst over cooking beans. 3h in a slow cooker and they are just about perfect.

Kombu is a miracle ingredient! Adding a small (1-2” square) piece of kombu to the beans while they cook helps tremendously to soften them, so much so that I can add salt and/or acid and have no problems with getting the beans to soften and cook. I even have to watch (or even shorten) the cooking time to make sure they don’t get mushier than I like.

Imagine baked beans, but less sugary and more spicy—delicious! For a vegetarian version, soyrizo works well. I used about 7oz (two small links) and cooked it according to the instructions for the bacon. A squeeze of lime, slice of avocado, or dollop of sour cream or yogurt would go nicely.

No jalapeños so I toasted a dried pasillo chile over an open burner, chopped it up in pieces big enough to fish out later, and tossed them in at step 3. This added delicious toasty notes to the finished beans.

I used guayacoba beans, cooked dry in the instant pot for 25 minutes along with 1 whole ancho chili. To make it Vegan, I added 1 tbsp guochuchang while cooking the onions and garlic. I finely chopped 1/2 of the seeded ancho into the beans - I think I could have used the whole thing. Delicious!

Soaked the beans in very salty water for 24 hours, used 8 garlic cloves, removed about half of the bacon grease, added two teaspoons of Sazón completa, used beef broth in place of the soaking water and it came out incredible. I also didn’t bother separating the stems and leaves of cilantro - coarse chopped it and threw it in with the peppers, onions, and garlic. Will definitely make again. The salt water 24 hour soak made the beans cook down within an hour too.

Made as directed using Rancho Gordo Mayacoba beans and this turned out truly excellent. I soaked my beans for 24 hours and they only needed 1 hour simmer and then 30 minutes of additional cooking once adding the beer.

Salty! I ended up adding the whole 16 oz can of beer to offset and it turned out pretty delicious

Made as written except I unintentionally ended up soaking the beans an extra 24 hours and used black beans instead bc that’s what the store had.It came out delicious with a nice texture exactly with the cooking times described. I feel like I read somewhere that the issue with canned tomatoes and dry beans only occurs if there was citric acid added to the canned tomatoes which must up the acidity. I used fresh tomatoes and had no issue but perhaps the long pre-soak also helped.

I've been making Borracho beans for years. My recipe calls for 6 cans of drained and rinsed pinto beans, 1 lb diced and cooked bacon, 1 large yellow onion chopped and cooked in the bacon grease, 3 cloves of minced garlic briefly cooked in same, 3 cans of beef broth, 3 bottles of dark beer, I use Shiner Bock, 3 large chopped tomatoes, sliced jalapeños to taste and a handful of cilantro. I learned how to make this when I lived in San Antonio. These beans are meant to be brothy and served in bowls.

I always cook my beans in the slow cooker. I start them cooking at about 9 in the evening and by morning they're ready for anything and the house smells yummy.

They'll keep longer than five days in the fridge! And if looking for a vegetarian--but not vegan--option, use butter and paprika. I also always always always add cumin when I cook beans. Otherwise, this recipe is really great! Being a New Mexican, I'm particular about my pinto beans, so it's nice that this recipe tracks well.

these are outstanding. no need for the overnight soak. just put in a slow cooker. serve topped with some thinly chopped cabbage, cilantro and fresh lime. not sure why theres so much angst over cooking beans. 3h in a slow cooker and they are just about perfect.

My husband says the flavor is “subtle”. He is tactful and kind. My assessment is “flavorless”.

This is simply amazing. Wonderful flavors. Made with Kielbasa. Made a ton.

Imagine baked beans, but less sugary and more spicy—delicious! For a vegetarian version, soyrizo works well. I used about 7oz (two small links) and cooked it according to the instructions for the bacon. A squeeze of lime, slice of avocado, or dollop of sour cream or yogurt would go nicely.

Extremely delicious and easy to make. Great for a cold winter day!

Swapped out bacon and beer for chorizo and tequila. Made in instant pot. Fabulous! Almost didn't make after looking at reviews. Loved the creaminess of the broth.