Disclosure: This La Barbecue Charro Beans recipe contains affiliate links since we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Charro Beans are a popular side dish here in Texas and today I’m sharing a copycat charro bean recipe from a popular Austin, Texas restaurant. Grab the recipe for La Barbecue Charro Beans plus check out my cookbook review of Texas BBQ: Platefuls of Legendary Lone Star Flavor!
Happy Monday, y’all! Hopefully some of you are enjoying a day off today, if not hopefully you can enjoy today’s recipe! Not only do I have a new recipe to share with you today, a great classic recipe for La Barbecue Charro Beans, but a cookbook review too!
I’ve been doing cookbook reviews since I started blogging, as it was one of the many reasons I wanted to start a recipe blog, to actually cook through and share my large collection of cookbooks with other foodies. My cookbook reviews have evolved over time and since they do take quite a bit of work, have been hit or miss in recent years.
But last year I wanted to start doing them again and aimed for one cookbook review a month. The year started out good, as it usually does, but then life took over (read more about that here) and I didn’t get around to doing any more.
Texas Coleslaw with Grapefruit and Pecans (page 134)
But I have gotten a lot of new cookbooks in the past year (seriously, I might have a problem) and still have a lot of books on my bookshelf that I need to cook through; so I hope to try to post at least one cookbook review a month this year. But since it is already February and this is the first cookbook review I’m sharing in 2018, we’ll see how that plan goes. LOL!
Anyways, being from Texas I was immediately drawn to today’s cookbook, Texas BBQ: Platefuls of Legendary Lone Star Flavor. Not only does this book have a lot of classic Texas recipes, it has modern Texas inspired recipes and lots beautiful food photos and beautiful photos of the scenery found in my home state!
I’ve cooked several recipes from this book and here’s the dets:
Brisket and Chicken Brunswick Stew (click for recipe)
Pictures: YES! Almost all the recipes have a photo, plus there are several lifestyle photos of Texas scenery.
Prep Time, Cooking Time, and Number of Servings listed: Each recipe is broken down by “hands on time” and “total time” as well as includes number of servings.
Nutritional Information Provided: No
Clear, easy to follow directions and ease of preparation: This book is written by Southern Living, not only do they know a thing or two about southern food, their recipes are carefully written and edited for clarity. However, keep in mind that preparing good barbecue can be time consuming, with allowing for time to marinate and/or time to smoke meat on a grill. Also, several of these recipes require “special” equipment like a smoker, grill or cast-iron skillet (I recommend Lodge Cast-Iron skillets if you are looking to purchase one) that not everyone may have at home.
Easily available ingredients and budget friendly: For the most part, most of these recipes contain readily available ingredients. However, I would say only about half of the recipes could be considered “budget friendly”; as there are several recipes that use pricy seafood or expensive cuts of beef.
La Barbecue Charro Beans (recipe below)
Variety of recipes: This cookbook has a lot of classic Texas barbecue recipes (think recipes you would get at a barbecue or Tex-Mex restaurant) from Beef Fajitas to Texas Smoked Brisket to Bread and Butter Pickles and Banana Pudding. But it also includes some twists on classic recipes, things like Pecan Pie Bars and Texas Coleslaw with Grapefruit and Pecans.
Special Feature: Each recipe has a little blurb and/or history lesson about what makes that dish classic Texas barbecue. The book also highlights popular Texas restaurants and features a few recipes inspired these restaurants. For example, the recipe I chose to feature today is La Barbecue Charro Beans. La Barbecue is a very popular barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Other restaurant recipe features include Whataburger (a popular Texas fast food chain) and the Texas Burger and The Zodiac Restaurant at Neiman Marcus and the Neiman Marcus Cake.
So far I’ve made:
La Barbecue Charro Beans (recipe below)
Brisket and Chicken Brunswick Stew (click for recipe)
Texas Coleslaw with Grapefruit and Pecans (page 134)
Other recipes I have bookmarked:
Tequila Lime Pie (page 168)
White BBQ Sauce (page 110)
Neiman Marcus Cake (page 186)
Adobo Grilled Beef Rib-Eyes (page 68)
As part of this cookbook review I decided to feature the recipe for La Barbecue Charro Beans. While there are a lot of great recipes in this book, I was drawn to this recipe because La Barbecue is a popular barbecue food truck and now restaurant in Austin, Texas, that I’ve had the pleasure of eating at a couple of times. And while I’ve had La Barbecue’s Charro Beans before, to be honest it has been awhile, so I can’t say if this recipe tastes exactly like their’s; BUT this is a great go to recipe for this classic Texas side dish!
- 1 (16-ounce) package dried pinto beans
- ½ tablespoon canola or corn oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilis
- ½ pound salted pork slab (found near the bacon)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer, such as Shiner Bock or Modelo Negra (or substitute with broth)*
- 2 cups beef or chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
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Place beans in a colander and rinse with cool water. Pick out any broken or discolored beans.
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Place rinsed beans in a large pot or Dutch oven; add water to cover beans by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1-2 hours. Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid.
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Return pot to burner and heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until translucent. Add jalapeno peppers and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
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To the cooked vegetables, add the soaked and rinsed beans, diced tomatoes, salted pork, chili powder, ground cumin, black pepper, beer, broth and water.
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Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let beans simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until beans are tender. Add additional water during the cooking process, if needed.
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Right before serving, stir in fresh cilantro.
*Charro beans don’t call for beer and adding beer makes them technically borracho beans. I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and either using the beer or making traditional charro beans with only broth or water, works well with this recipe.
Recipe adapted from Texas BBQ: Platefuls of Legendary Lone Star Flavor
Other Texas BBQ: Platefuls of Legendary Lone Star Flavor cookbook reviews and recipes:
Smoked Chicken {Nibble Me This}
Potato Salad with Sweet Pickles {Flicks and Food}
Tequila Lime Pie {House of Yumm}
