Cowboy Beans
They are smoky, sweet, and a little spicy, a roller coaster for your taste buds!
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven 6-quart pot with lid
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 mixing bowl Large
- 1 mixing bowl Medium size
- 1 rimmed baking sheet pan
- 1 wooden spoon
Ingredients
Ingredients For Pinto Beans
- 4 cups pinto beans Dried
- 6-8 cup cold water
Ingredients For Cowboy Beans
- 12 cups pinto beans Pre-soaked, rinsed, and drained
- 4 strips bacon Cut into pieces
- 3 poblano peppers Roasted, seeded, and diced
- 1 sweet onion Diced
- 5 large cloves garlic Minced
- 6 sliced scallions White and green parts, reserve the tops for garnish
- 1 red bell pepper Seeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper Seeded and diced
- 1 orange bell pepper Seeded and diced
- 14-ounce package smoked Kielbasa Diced
- water Enough to cover the beans by 1 inch, refer to notes
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup light brown sugar Lightly packed
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsps pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsps yellow mustard
- 2 dashes liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsps kosher salt More to taste
- 1 1/2 tsps black pepper Freshly ground, more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.While you are prepping all your ingredients for this dish, go ahead and roast the poblano peppers. Line a sheet pan with foil. Place the peppers on the sheet pan and cook for 20-30 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap. The steam inside the bowl will loosen the skins for easy peeling.In the meantime, in a cold Dutch oven, add the diced bacon pieces. Turn the heat to medium and cook the bacon to the halfway point, rendering the fat.Add the diced peppers, scallions, and onions to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the veggies have softened and developed some color, add the smoked Kielbasa and stir to combine. Add the pre-soaked beans and cover with water by 1 inch (refer to notes). Bring to a boil. Next, add the brown sugar, molasses, liquid smoke, maple syrup, ketchup, mustard, chili powder, Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic. Reduce to a low heat and simmer. Place the lid on and cook until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened. This will take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours.
Notes
1) The Cowboy beans travel well and can easily be reheated.
2) Yes, pinto beans are naturally gluten-free. They are a naturally occurring food that does not contain wheat, barley, or rye, which are the primary sources of gluten. However, it is important to be cautious of cross-contamination when purchasing beans, especially when buying from bulk bins where they might be mixed with gluten-containing grains. For safety, consider buying beans in sealed packages and checking labels to ensure they are gluten-free. Also, in this recipe, you would want to omit the smoked sausage and liquid smoke.
3) Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot. Add fresh water to cover the beans, typically about 3 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans.
4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.