Pinto beans — the daily staple of New Mexican cooking — are cooked in a manner almost identical to the Mexican frijoles de olla (MX-13) but with specific New Mexican seasonings: red chile, cumin, and often bacon or salt pork. The slow, long cook from dried beans is non-negotiable — the specific creamy, slightly mealy texture of a correctly cooked pinto bean is the product of the extended cook and cannot be replicated with canned beans.
- **Dried pintos:** Sorted (removing any shrivelled beans or stones), rinsed but not soaked (the traditional New Mexican position — as per the Mexican tradition, MX-13, which argues soaking reduces flavour). - **The fat:** Lard, bacon fat, or salt pork added with the beans — provides richness and carries the cumin's fat-soluble aromatic compounds through the entire pot. - **Red chile:** One or two dried red chiles added whole to the pot — they soften and flavour the beans with their earthiness without making the beans spicy. - **Salt at the end:** As per MX-13 — salt added only when the beans are completely soft. Early salt toughens the skin. - **The consistency:** New Mexican beans are cooked until very soft — some intentionally break down and thicken the pot liquid to a creamy broth. [VERIFY] Jamison's bean recipe.
Rancho de Chimayó