Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

cowboy beans

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Lou Kostura
Belmont, CA

I started making these years ago, they are always a big hit. They do take some time but on a lazy weekend they are just the thing, and well worth the effort. I like using a ham bone in mine, however if there is a lack of ham bone availability I have used a couple ham hocks or 1 lb. of bacon in its place. I've eaten this as a main dish or a side, your choice. By making such a large batch you can share or freeze some in zip lock bags, put in portion sizes for your family for later use.

(1 rating)
yield 8 -10
prep time 20 Min
cook time 6 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For cowboy beans

  • 2 lb
    dried pinto beans
  • 1
    ham bone, or 2 ham hocks, or 1 lb bacon diced
  • 10-15
    anahiem peppers roasted and chopped
  • 1 lg
    onion chopped
  • 6-8
    celery ribs coarse chopped
  • 1
    garlic head coarse chopped
  • 28 oz can
    tomato crushed
  • 28 oz. can
    tomato diced
  • 28 oz. can
    tomato whole
  • 48 oz
    beer of your choice
  • 6-8
    fresh bay leaves
  • salt to taste

How To Make cowboy beans

  • 1
    soak pinto's over night in water
  • 2
    add pintos to large stock pot with ham bone
  • 3
    roast Anaheim peppers
  • 4
    place peppers in a paper bag and seal to let steam for about 20 minutes
  • 5
    clean burned skins, seeds, stems, and ribs from peppers remember DO NOT RINSE PEPPERS IN WATER YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE NATURAL OILS AND A LOT OF FLAVOR.
  • 6
    chop peppers and add to pot
  • 7
    add onions, celery, and garlic
  • 8
    add remaining ingredients,cover, bring to boil for 30 minutes, reduce to soft boil or hard simmer for minimum 3 hours, longer is better. I cook mine 6-7 hours. STIR FREQUENTLY TO AVOID STICKING AND BURNING TO BOTTOM.
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