Texas barbecue beans

During our recent road trip to Baton Rouge, we had occasion to dine in Amarillo, TX at Rudy's.
It was a great place to sample Texas barbeque, while we were in awe of the brisket, we also fell in love with the Texas barbeque beans.

Upon returning home, Bob begged me to make them for him. I did my usual internet research for recipes. I was astonished to find that most recipes used a cans of pork & beans as a base. We had recently been give a huge bag of pinto beans, so there was no way I was going to use canned beans. I got out my pintos, rinsed them and soaked them overnight !!

Here is my take on Texas Barbeque Beans.
Let's talk about my modifications...lots of recipes called for the burnt ends of brisket, really ?? I guess in Texas they burn their brisket and always have those burnt ends around. Instead I used almost a pound of cooked bacon , I say almost because someone stole a few slices ;-)

The recipes also called for one 14 ounce can of whole tomatoes. I make my own tomato products, so I used 1 cup of my roasted tomato sauce and 1 cup of whole peeled tomatoes that I had frozen from last season. I am guessing any combination of fresh, canned or frozen will be fine.

Ingredients
    •    1 pound ( about 2 cups) dried pinto beans
    •    8 cups water
    •    1 pound bacon (or 2 cups brisket burnt ends, chopped)
    •    1 cup roasted tom sauce, 1 cup whole toms(or one 14-ounce can whole tomatoes)
    •    1 large onion, chopped
    •    1 cup barbecue sauce
    •    6 cloves garlic, minced
    •    1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
    •    1 tablespoon chili powder
    •    1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    •    1 teaspoon salt
    •    2 teaspoon ground cumin
     
1) Wash beans and pour into large saucepan or dutch oven.
2) Chop the onion and pepper and garlic, add to the beans.

 3) Add the barbeque sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, cumin, and chili powder.

4) Add the tomatoes.

5) Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for two hours, covered. Stir occasionally, bringing up the beans from the bottom.  A slow cooker/crockpot would work too.

6) Beans are done when soft but still hold their shape. The end product is a soupy, flavorful bean stew. I served it with corn muffins and raw veggies !

This is definitely the kind of recipe that begs for your own modifications and gets better  the longer the flavors can meld together. It was great several days later. To make it vegetarian, use fake bacon, soyrizo or liquid smoke to replace the bacon.