Recipe: Wayne’s Chipotle Beans

Technically, these are actually my friend Wayne’s Chipotle Pinto Beans recipe but when I went to the grocery store they had no pinto beans… at all! Not even in a can! A man at the store said, “Something ain’t right when a grocery store runs out of beans.” So true!

I bought white pea beans instead and they were fantastic as a side for my bannock soft taco! And the drink? Homemade Asian Pear Ginger Iced Tea which I will be sharing with you tomorrow. So refreshing! Together, this makes one killer meal.

So no, I could not find pinto beans so I opted for these white pea beans which I have never heard of. I chose them because they had a recipe for baked beans on the package so I thought they would be a good choice. Turns out I was right! I will share the original recipe with you but please note, it makes 12 servings which is way too much food for me. I made a quarter of the recipe. You begin with 1 pound of dried pinto beans.

Soak the beans in lots of cold water for at least four hours. I soaked mine for eight, just to be sure. It is smart to soak them overnight if you can remember to do that ahead of time.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook four slices of bacon until crisp. My bacon just seem to refuse to crisp up that night. Put the bacon on paper towel.

Add 1 small onion, chopped. I added a little more oil and used a whole onion even though I was doing 1/4 of the recipe. Why not, right? I love onions! Cook onions for three minutes and then add 1 crushed clove of garlic and 3 chopped chipotles in adobo sauce.

OK, now that is too hot for me. I grated in some of my chipotle puree, about 1/2 tsp and I was worried it would be too hot but thankfully, it was the perfect amount. Remember if you do not want the heat, remove the seeds. If you want it super spicy, leave them in!

Continue cooking, stirring often, until onions are soft.

Drain the beans and add them to the pot with 3 cups of water, 2 cups of strong coffee, 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt and 1 cube of beef bouillon. Add the bacon, stir well, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for TWO HOURS, stirring occasionally. You may have to add water, so keep checking on it.

Of course I started making this when I was cooking the rest of my dinner and totally forgot, this dish takes a long time to cook! Oh well, I had it for lunch instead.

The sauce gets a great warm soul-hugging colour to it. These beans are the real deal!

So much better than beans out of a can, seriously, there is no comparison. When I was a kid, wieners and beaners scared me. I thought it was the freakiest food in the world! I have never, EVER enjoyed them or anything like them until now. Of course Wayne had no idea of my history with this dish but I knew if he recommended them, they were probably the best around. And he was right!

Thanks so much Wayne! You have helped me get over one of my foodie fears. Thanks for the healing!