Pinto Beans (Red Beans and Rice)

This may be the easiest but very flavorful meal to fix. As a matter of fact, this is my husband’s most favorite dish as well as a lot of people who were raised in Texas especially in the country. Some people call it red beans and rice even though it is neither the same red beans used in Cajun cooking nor is it the same recipe. The rice is not cooked with the beans but eaten with it. Another side dish that usually goes with it is cornbread.

My husband always requests cornbread when we have this dish that he drops in a glass of milk. He would eat and eat and still finish his sopping wet cornbread by the spoonful from the glass of milk, then bottoms-up the glass to get the last drop. Whenever we have this dish he would say he’d “hurt himself” for eating too much.

Ingredients:

2 ham hocks
2 cups pinto beans
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 medium onion coarsely cut up
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 fresh jalapeno sliced (optional)
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 packet Goya seasoning Con Azafran or Goya Achuete con Cilantro (optional)

Pick debris from pinto beans and rinse well with water. Soak in water for a few hours or overnight before cooking if you prefer but I omit this step.

Put the washed pinto beans in a large pot and add water to about 2 to 3 inches from the top of the beans then add the ham hocks. Choose a pot that will submerge the hocks almost completely with the amount of water you use.

Boil the beans and the hocks with the rest of the ingredients except the Goya seasoning if using. Simmer 3 to 4 hours or until the ham hocks are very tender and the rinds are almost falling off. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add the Goya seasoning at this point if you are using it.

This is a good dish to cook in a slow cooker if you have one. Heat it to boiling first then transfer to the slow cooker and cook on medium for about 5 hours.

Tip: If you have to add more water, use hot water and not cold to prevent the beans from splitting.

Instead of using raw dry pinto beans, sometimes I use a large can of Bush’s Pinto Beans. Follow the procedure without the beans then when the ham hocks are tender add the pre-cooked can of pinto beans. Heat through, season and presto, you’re done. It’s just as good. Just remember you don’t have to use the same amount of water because the beans are already cooked and are also canned with the juice.

Pickled jalapeno is a good condiment with it and if you are a Filipino, a little plate (platito) of patis with the sliced pickled jalapeno is even better, dipping just the tip of the spoon in it, scooping a small piece of the pepper then dropping it to the spot you are going to spoon to eat.

The leftover is better the next day.