Drunken Pintos With Cilantro And Bacon (rick Bayless)

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups dried pinto beans
• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup lamb shoulder, cubed (or extra bacon)
• 4 slices bacon, thick, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 2 serrano chilies or 1 jalapeno chile
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tequila, to taste
• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

Recipe

• 1 beans:.
• 2 sort and rinse the beans thoroughly. scoop into a 4 quart saucepan.
• 3 add 5 cups water; remove any beans that float.
• 4 add the cubed lamb (or extra chopped bacon) and bring to a boil.
• 5 reduce heat and gently simmer, partially covered, until tender, about 2 hours.
• 6 stir gently occasionally, and keep water level a good 1/2 inch above the level of the beans.
• 7 flavorings:.
• 8 in a medium skillet, fry the bacon until crisp. remove the bacon but leave behind the drippings.
• 9 pour off all the drippings except 2 tablespoons.
• 10 return pan to medium heat.
• 11 add the onions and chiles and fry until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• 12 scrape the onion mixture into the beans; taste and season with salt.
• 13 continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes to blend the flavors.
• 14 if the beans seem soupy, boil over medium heat until they are the consistency of a nice brothy bean soup.
• 15 you can also take 1/4 of the beans and run them through the blender with a bit of broth, then return to pan.
• 16 just before serving, stir in the tequila and cilantro.
• 17 serve in warm bowls topped with the crumbled bacon.