i know this is going to sound crazy ...but read on

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cal1956

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Apr 14, 2015
1,068
319
Colorado
1st let me say that i'm not a big fan of pinto beans but having said that i decided to try a recipe i found for pinto beans
and oh my lord are they good ... when i 1st saw this recipe i thought i must have read it wrong, but here is the recipe for the best pinto beans ( I ) have ever eaten,
it starts out with 2 pots of strong black coffee ( yes you read that right ) make the coffee and pour it into your pot ( i used a cast iron dutch oven ) then add 1 lb of DRIED pinto beans , then add in 1/2-3/4 lb lean beef
( i used a serloin steak that i had ) cut into cubes then add 3 tablespoons chili powder , 1 tablespoon cyanne powder , i teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder , 1/2 teaspoon powdered smoke then salt and black pepper to your taste
cook this on your stove top until the beans and meat are very tender ( several hours ) adding plain water as it cooks down
my wife thought i was nuts when she watched me making this but after eating it she told me that i'm in charge of making pinto beans from now on !!
when i saw this this recipe and read the word "coffee " at first i thought it was crazy then i thought why not try it !!
i'm so glad i did , .........you might read this and think its kinda crazy too ( i did ) but man is it good !!!!
 
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after i put it on my plate , i topped it with fresh cold diced onions . and had cornbread to mop up the gravy. i would have never dreamed of cooking beans in coffee until i saw that recipe , i have since done a little research and found that these are sometimes called " cowboy beans " the only thing i added to the recipe was the smoke powder , i had it on hand so i added 1/2 teaspoon to the original recipe
 
Coffee with spices and beef adds a nice earthiness for sure. I’ve used it in rubs often. I can see this being tasty.
 
one of my wifes girlfreinds droped by while it was cooking and asked what smelled so good and i told her i was making "pinto beans, then i asked if she wanted to "taste them " she said sure , the beans were done at this point and i just had them on the stove to keep them hot till it was time to eat, so i gave her about 1/2 of a small bowel to try , after she tasted them she said and i quote " they taste as good as they smell " thats when i told her i cooked them in coffee , she was suprised but she ate all that was in the bowl so i figure she must like them haha
about all i can add is at supper , i made a pig of myself eating them
 
from what i have read about using coffee in beans , it came about because the old cowboys didn't have easy access to clean water while on the trail and would often dump their left over coffee in the bean pot thus it became known as " cowboy beans "
 
sorry but no i didn't take any pictures , i didn't even know if i would like the results until it was done
 
i just put on another pot of these beans , hope they are as good as the 1st one
 
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