Frijoles con Tequila (Tipsy Beans)
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Not content just to drink tequila, Mexican cooks also pour it into a pot of beans.
INGREDIENTS
2 rounded cups dried pinto beans
2 white onions, 1 quartered and 1 finely chopped
2 heads garlic, outside papery skin removed and then halved crosswise
Sea salt, to taste
2 ancho chiles, seeded, deveined, and toasted
1 cup tequila blanco
1/2 to 3/4 cup flavorful lard, corn or safflower oil
2 cups crumbled queso fresco
Corn chips
Chipotle Chile Salsa or other salsaPick over the beans and discard any debris. Rinse, place in a deep pot, and add water to cover by 1 inch. Add the quartered onion and the garlic and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are soft, about 2 hours, adding more hot water if needed.
Season with salt and cook until thick, about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding only enough water to keep the beans from sticking.
Put the chiles in a bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let soak 15 minutes, then drain and place in a blender with the tequila. Blend until almost smooth.
In a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the lard or oil until it starts to smoke. Add the chopped onion, reduce the heat to medium-low, and fry until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the chile mixture and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes. Add the onion-chile mixture to the beans and cook until the consistency of thick cream with only some beans remaining whole. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
Stir 1 cup of the cheese into the beans. Spoon the beans onto a large platter, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and garnish with corn chips. Serve with additional corn chips and the salsa.