Ingredients
Method
- Prep. Dice the bacon. Coarsely chop the onion (enough for about 1 cup (127 g)). Press or mince the garlic. Finely chop the serranos. Slice the mushrooms.
- Cover the dried beans with 2" (51 mm) of water over their top. Soak the beans for 12 hours at least.
- Cook. Add the beans to a large pot and boil for 30 minute as in my article The Science of Beans. Drain them and leave them in the pot.
- Add the beer and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in an ungreased heavy skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered. Move the bacon to some paper towels on top of some newspaper to drain them. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the skillet. Keep the flame at medium and cook the onion, garlic, and chiles in the bacon fat until they are soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook until soft and wilted. Add the cooked bacon and stir.
- Transfer this mixture to the beans, season with salt and pepper to your taste, add more water if you wish, and simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Serve. Serve with warm corn tortillas and lime wedges.
Notes
About the beans. Any of the pinto-like beans are in order here. Sando also likes Rio Zape, Red Appaloosa, or Anasazi. If you use dried beans, you should read my article The Science of Beans to learn how to prep them. Sando sells dried beans so that's what he wants you to use, but you can use canned beans. Just substitute 3 (15 ounce) cans of beans will cut the cooking time to 2 hours.
About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.