When I first graduated from college, I toured nightclubs, acting and singing with a musical comedy revue. One of our first gigs was in a big new nightclub in San Antonio, Texas. There were five of us in the group and, after the opening musical number, I exited off into the kitchen, because I made an entrance for the next routine from the back of the house. I had at least 10 minutes before my entrance.
So, during our stay there I got to know the club’s Executive Chef pretty well. He was of Mexican descent and made darn-near the best Tex-Mex Chili Beans this side of the Rio Grande! I mean, people drove from miles around to eat his Mexican cuisine. When he saw how interested I was in his food, he took me under his wing, and for that 10 minutes each night, he began to show me how to make his famous chili beans, Tex-Mex chili and mole sauce. Now, at what place in this crazy world can you actually be singing, acting, and dancing onstage, and at the same time, be attending culinary school? Oh, and they’re also the perfect side dish for them BBQ’ed ribs!
Texas Chili Beans
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Serves: 8
PREP TIME
24 hours
COOK TIME
60 mins
TOTAL TIME
25 hours
Now, don't freak-out about this here Prep Time. It includes soakin' them dried pinto beans overnight. The actual cookin' time is not that long.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound bag Pinto beans
1 can Whole tomatoes in sauce
1 Smoked ham hock or smoked turkey leg
2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves Garlic (chopped)
1 Onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon Garlic powder
3 tablespoons Ground cumin
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon Ground pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Chili powder
1 teaspoon Ground coriander
2 tablespoons White vinegar
1 Jalapeño pepper (whole - to be removed before serving)
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak them beans in water overnight.
Next morning, pour the water off the beans into a colander.
In the pot you’re gonna cook them beans in, add the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes, the beans and all the rest of the ingredients.
Cover in water and cook at medium heat for about an hour. (The juice should have cooked down a bit) And, honey, you got yourself some tasty chili beans!