Alphabetic Recipe M — Mexican Pork'n'Beans Recipe

Today we have a classic American recipe for a traditional for a classic rich stew of pork with pinto beans.

Today's is the fifteenth entry of my new series of Alphabetic recipes. Each day for the next month and more, I will be adding a new recipe linked to a different letter of the alphabet. As I collect recipes from all over the globe, and have lots of Welsh recipes, I am going to use a blend of the Welsh and English alphabets:

A | B | C | D | E | F | Ff | G | H | I | J | K | L | Ll | M | N | O | P | Q | R | Rh | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

so there will be 30 entries in total. As today is the fifteenth day in this series I am providing a recipe starting with the letter 'M'. This is a traditional recipe from Arizona and northern Mexico.

Mexican Pork'n'Beans Recipe

Dried Pinto Beans

This is a traditional American recipe for a stew of pork and pinto beans in a Mexican-inspired sauce of chillies and herbs.

The Pinto beans in this recipe (the name comes from the Spanish: frijol pinto, literally 'painted bean') are named for its mottled skin; hence it is a type of mottled bean. It is the most common bean in the United States and northwestern Mexico, and is most often eaten whole in broth or mashed and refried. Either whole or mashed, it is a common filling for burritos. The young pods may also be used as green beans. The bean is orange-pink with rust-coloured specks.


Ingredients:


450g pork shoulder
450g dry pinto beans
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp ground cloves
45g jalapeño chillies, chopped
bacon fat or oil for frying




Method:


Pick over the beans then place in a large bowl and cover with plenty of water. Drain and add to a saucepan or stockpot along with 1.5l water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling rapidly for 2 minutes then cover, take off the heat and allow to stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, slice the pork into 3cm cubes and season liberally with salt and black pepper. Heat the bacon fat or oil in a heavy frying pan or wok and use to fry the pork until well browned on all sides. Now drain the beans and add to a clean saucepan along with the fried pork. Pour a little water (about 300 ml) into the frying pan and use this to deglaze.

Add the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin and cloves to the pan then add enough water to come 2cm above the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. At this point add the chopped chillies and continue cooking until the pork is tender enough to be broken up with a fork and almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Add more water, as needed, during the cooking time. You are looking for a very thick consistency.

Serve with rice or on tortillas with your favourite mix of toppings.

The recipe presented here is based, with permission, on the Celtnet Mexican Pork'n'Beans recipe.

This recipe is brought to you in conjunction with the Celtnet Guide to Recipes Beginning with 'M'.