Year of the Bean

Talking with a friend the other week, they mentioned a black baked bean recipe, which sounded just perfect for this time of year. It’s a hot muggy day so not necessarily a classic time to fire up the oven… but having conceded to the A/C, I’ll make do.

Ingredients

• 200 g Rancho Gordo Frijol Negro Santanero (or other black beans), smoked for two hours (optional) and soaked overnight
• 1 tsp Burlap & Barrel Wild Mountain Cumin
• 1 tsp Rancho Gordo Mexican Oregano
• 1 tsp Rancho Gordo New Mexico Red Chile Powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. Granulated onion (or one small onion, minced)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 ancho Chile, rehydrated and liquid conserved
• 1 mesquite smoked poblano Chile, rehydrated and liquid conserved
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, or 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Procedure

1. Smoke beans in a tray; let cool, and then soak overnight, covered by 1″ water
2. In a Dutch oven place the soaked beans and their soaking water, cumin, chile powder, dried oregano, garlic and onion – make sure it’s covered 1″, adding water if necessary
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour; add salt once the beans are beginning to soften
4. Put the rehydrated chiles in a food processor and blend, adding their conserved liquid to form a paste; set aside
5. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
6. Stir in remaining ingredients into the pot, stir to combine
7. Transfer to oven and cook for one hour, then remove lid
8. Cook for another 15 minutes, and check consistency – when they reach desired consistency, remove from oven, let sit for 10 minutes, and serve.