Drunken Beans

I've now made this twice, once with pinto and once with black beans. The only changes I've made is I use serranos instead of jalapenos (personal preference of flavor), chicken broth instead of water, and I add a pinch of cumin. This recipe is GREAT. I love how flavorful the beans turn out, and works as a side dish or its own meal, with some cojita cheese and cilantro sprinkled on top.

• stevierox

• California

• 6/29/2014

Borracho beans are a family favorite. I add cumino during the cooking - about a tablespoon - I also drain off most of the bacon drippings. A real must - add chopped cilantro just before serving.

• chanteclar1

• New Orleans,La.

• 1/8/2010

Thank goodness for this website's archive of recipes. This was a favorite of mine from many years ago. My splattered copy from the magazine disappeared but here it is for my enjoyment! Thanks Gormet!

• cindyann2

• Navarre, FL

• 8/17/2009

I used black beans instead of pinto beans since I like them better. The rest of the recipe I followed exactly. They are delicous. They have a wonderful well rounded flavor.

• jfain

• Columbus, OH

• 5/4/2008

This is very similar recipe to a friends mom of mine. It is close to authentic the difference is they do not always use beer and no jalapenos or oregano. instead they cook the bacon,some diced tomatoes,cilantro,di ced green onions,and garlic together. They add it in after the beans have already began to soften. They add plenty of salt to the beans as well. They are to die for. Don't forget to use regular pepper as well.

• desoliz

• 5/2/2008

I seriously cheated and used canned pintos, country ham pieces, and Michelob Porter, because this is what I had on hand. I simmered on the stove top for a couple of hours. They were still great, I cant wait to try this recipe as written. I made these beans to go with leftover Short Ribs Braised in Coffee Ancho Chili Sauce (a recipe from this site) that I made into carnitas, It was a great meal that did not have the leftover or canned vibe.

• linda2601

• Murfreesboro, TN

• 4/7/2008

I couldn't bring myself to leave all that bacon grease in, so I drained it off. Otherwise I followed the recipe, which I found quite ordinary and bland.

• lisamargaret

• Santa Barbara

• 3/1/2008

I must preface this with I don't like beans. However, this dish is amazing. Served as part of an experimental dinner, and all the guests loved it. Modified it by adding only a quart of water (even then I had to reduce on the stove). Also ended up putting in more jalapenos. Quite zippy, lot of kick on the back end. Just wonderful.

• knobblyknees

• LA, CA

• 1/21/2007

I have a similar recipe pased down from my parents. and its just as good. I have made this with a meatier bacon. and also with cut up hot dogs. The idea behind this dish is to be served after a night of partying and celebration, so any kind of meat would do the trick so use your imagination.

• juarezb4

• sarasota, FL

• 12/17/2006

DO NOT USE 1 and 1/2 QUARTS WATER. You will only make a mess. This is a typical "restaurant" recipe; they are not very exact with measurements. I used 2 cups of water. Made it in my bean pot, which is the best for deciding if more water is needed. Defintely more garlic. I used ham hocks as I know that our bacon is nothing you would ever find in Mexico. If you can tell the difference between regular oregano and Mexican oregano in this, you're a lot more exacting than I am.

• scough

• Palm Desert

• 5/1/2006

我通常添加辣椒辣椒bean,但电动汽车en in Austin, Texas, I couldn't find any at a local market. So I bought a tiny can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I added two spanish chorizo sausages, and a little cumin. We'll see how it turns out. TWO WEEKS LATER: It was great. 4 serrano peppers plus the small can of smoked chipotles was plenty hot (surprisingly) and plenty tasty. Place this on your 'heavy rotation' list.

• ssmagula

• Austin, Texas

• 10/1/2005

These beans were great and will become a family staple. I did not have an ovenproof kettle so simmered them on the stove for many hours. I think next time I will use hamhocks or meatier bacon, and substitute the pickled/jarred jalepenos for the canned ones and use some of the juice as a previous reviewer suggested. I didn't take the time to get the mexican oregano so just used regular, and it seemed to work out ok. This complemented a delicious meal of the Mexican Poblano Lasagne also found on epicurious.com, and enchiladas. Great mexican meal!

• lanae12370

• San Jose, CA

• 12/27/2004

This recipe got rave reviews from my guests since the beans were so tasty!

• Julie

• Texas/Devon, England

• 8/4/2004

我做了两次这个食谱。我有这样的渴望for beans that although I didn't find this particular recipe very appealing and I have absolutely no access to Mexican dark beer or Mexican oregano I still couldn't resist giving it a try. So...I substituted Dutch dark beer for Mexican and regular oregano for Mexican. I soaked the beans overnight, followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. I tasted the broth about 1 1/2 hrs. later and almost threw it out on the spot but my stubborness prevailed and I finished the cooking time and then some, and then some and then some more because the beans were still hard. Evidently I had gotten ahold of some really old beans or a bad brand that refused to soften properly but the flavor was terrific. Second try was done with the same substitutions and the results were really delicious. I read the other reviews and now I wonder if cilantro is a closer substitution for Mexican oregano than regular oregano? Will give it a try. But we really loved these beans and I'll definitely make them again. We like lots of liquid with beans so this was perfect.

• Anonymous

• Aruba

• 11/21/2003

Not bad beans at all, but it did have its challenges. Having said that they were devoured by the group of twelve for whom I made it. Again, I had probems with the liquid. I solved that by beginning the beans the night before in a 350 degree oven for a couple/few hours. Refrigerated them overnight, then put them back in a "slow" oven (275-300 or so) for the entire afternoon. Watch out for the chicken broth suggestion. I'd be sure to use low sodium or cut the broth with water. Otherwise, the beans get really salty. (Which is what happened to mine. Lack of thinking on my part.) To offset the salt, I added Montery Jack cheese. Also thought it would appeal to the crowd to whom I was serving the dish. (Did a fantastic Mexican grill with mesquite grilled chuck steak, pico, roasted chile/roasted tomato salsa from Fine Cooking 09/01 and received complaints about lack of sour cream. Pearls before swine.....)

• Anonymous

• US Miltary

• 5/18/2003