The Nicest Cowboy Beans (you’ll ever make)
Being a teenager working at a slice-n-serve BBQ joint in OKC, I became a huge fan of all things Q. The quest to balance sweet, tangy, spicy, salty and smokey captivated my young culinary mind. While it expanded my consciousness, my waistline quickly followed suit—no big deal though. Every BBQ lover’s dream is a steam cabinet packed with ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, hot links, polish sausage, and chicken which quickly becomes all-you-can-eat as soon as the owner leaves in the evening. Add a side of cowboy beans and you could say I was as happy as a twelve-fingered nose picker.
The following recipe is an homage to those cowboys beans of yore. The layers of sweetness from the brown sugar, molasses, and maple syrup perfectly balance the heat of the peppers. Sautéing the onion in Signature Spice builds a foundation of flavor that is only then bolstered by the low-and-slow stewing of smoked pork bones. You can cut a corner by swapping tomato sauce for the diced tomatoes and a 7 oz can of diced green chiles for the charred poblano and jalapeño, but we’re here to Make it Nice, OK?
Cowboy Beans - serves 4-6 people
1 lb white beans, dried
1 smoked pork bone, ham hock, or other (I used the one from my smoked pork shoulder)
1/2 lb bacon, chopped into half-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 TBS Make it Nice, OK Signature Spice Blend
3 large poblano peppers
1 large jalapeño pepper
(1) 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS molasses
1 TBS maple syrup
1/2 TBS kosher salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 cups cooking liquid (from the beans)
Sort the beans and remove any half pieces and rocks. Give a quick rinse and then cover with 2-3 quarts of water. Throw on a lid and place in the fridge overnight. They will triple in size.
The next day, drain the beans and rinse again. Transfer the beans to a large pot and add water about 3 inches above the top of the beans. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Cook the beans for 1 hour or until soft but not mushy. Drain and save some of the cooking liquid (at least 2 cups). Meanwhile, preheat your char-grill on high and start prepping the sauce.
In a large enameled dutch oven over low heat, render the bacon until cooked through but not crispy.
While the bacon is cooking, pop the peppers onto your ripping-hot char-grill and let them burn all over. You want them nice and charred, but not ashy (this means you took them too far). After they are sufficiently blackened, transfer them to a stainless steel bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let them steam for about 15-20 minutes.
Alright- back to the dutch oven. Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pot and set aside. Leave the bacon fat. Add the diced onion to the bacon fat and sprinkle with MINOK Signature Spice blend. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Do not brown them.
While the onions are cooking, finish up your peps. Discard the plastic wrap and place the charred peppers on a cutting board. Remove most of the burned skin from the outside. I like to use gloves or a paper towel to help with the process. After you’ve removed the skin, pull out the stems and deseed them as much or as little as you’d like (more seeds = more HEAT). Chop them up into a medium dice or pulse them in a food processor to a coarse puree.
Ok, you’re almost done with the hard stuff. Open up the can of diced tomatoes and dump them in the food processor. Pulse it a few times to break them down to a chunky puree. Or skip this step and use canned tomato sauce.
By this point, the onions should be soft, and you’re almost to the “everybody in the pool” stage. Preheat your oven to 325°F.
Before adding everything in, deglaze the pot with apple cider vinegar. This means, while the pot is still hot, pour in the vinegar and scrape up all the flavorful goodness with a wooden spoon. Little things like that are how you Make it Nice!
Noooow, everybody in the pool! Add the tomato puree, peppers, ketchup, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, dijon mustard, bean liquid, and salt. Toss in the bacon. Stir thoroughly until everything is incorporated. Add the beans last and stir to mix everything together. Last, add the smoked ham hock, and submerge it as best you can. Cover with foil and/or a lid and bake in the oven for 4-5 hours until the beans are very tender. Add liquid as needed to keep them a bit soupy.
*Note: This can be prepped ahead of time, transferred to a baking dish, and cooled down for later baking. When doing this, make sure to pull the beans out of the fridge an hour before baking to let them temper. You can also cook the beans a little longer in the initial cooking process. Bake at 350°F instead of 325 and be prepared to leave them in for 5 to 6 hours.
