Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans in Tex-Mex Broth

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• Brine:
• 1 pound dried pinto beans
• 1/4 cup table salt
• 3 quarts water
• Aromatics:
• 2 oz bacon, cut into 1" pieces (I cut 1" off the end of a slab of bacon)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Optional - 2 tsp pureed chipotle en adobo (or 1 diced jalapeno pepper)
• Bean cooking ingredients:
• 7 cups water
• Optional - 1 tbsp lard (or vegetable oil)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Details

Servings 1
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from dadcooksdinner.com

Preparation

Step 1

At least 8 hours before cooking, sort the pinto beans, removing broken beans, stones, and dirt clods. Rinse the beans, put them in a large container, cover with 1/4 cup salt and 3 quarts water, and stir to dissolve the salt. Let the beans soak for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Put the bacon in the pressure cooker pot over low heat, and cook until has rendered its fat and is crispy and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the bacon fat behind as possible. (There should be 1 to 2 tbsp of fat left in the pan; if there is a lot less, add a little vegetable oil.) Turn the heat up to medium, add the onion, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add the garlic and cumin; let sit in the pan for 1 minute or until you can smell the garlic cooking, then stir into the onions. Cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes, then add the chipotle and stir.

Rinse the pinto beans, drain, and add to the pressure cooker. Pour in the water, then stir in the bay leaf and lard. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, increase the heat to high, and bring the cooker up to high pressure. (Read the fine pressure cooker manual for how this works with your particular cooker). Reduce the heat to maintain the pressure, and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and quick release the pressure in the cooker. Remove the lid carefully, opening away from you - even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot. Discard the bay leaf, and stir in the reserved bacon.

Check the beans to make sure they are cooked through and softened. If not, either bring the pressure cooker back to high pressure for another 3 minutes, or simmer the beans uncovered for ten minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Variations:

If you don't want to soak the beans, or you forgot (like I do all the time), do the following. Sort and rinse the beans, put them in the pot with 7 cups of water, and increase the time under high pressure to 40 minutes (30 with natural pressure release).