Pinto beans, Stewed Potatoes, and Cornbread

Pinto beans, Stewed Potatoes, and Cornbread 

Printable recipe at:  soupashoestring.blogspot.com 

I grew up on a farm in Giles County, TN.  My parents and grandparents worked hard in the garden so we had vegetables all year long – frozen, canned (like in jars kept in the pump house), and kept in the crib of the barn (potatoes, onions, strings of dried peppers).  We had cows and therefore, beef in our freezer all year long.  We had pigs and between the freezer (sausage, chops, loins, bacon, pork roasts) and the smokehouse (hams hung from rafters), we had pork all year long.  None of that exists for us today.  Growing up I never appreciated how readily we had all the food we could ever want, all stored up and ready for us.  Since we live in town (Carthage) grocery stores are conveniently available, and until recent world events, there has always been a good supply to choose from. I do not like the empty shelves.  And of all things, my favorite food in the world, pinto beans, have all but become as mythical as unicorns.  What’s up folks?  The sudden urge to gather bags of pinto beans to one’s chest and pile carts high with dried beans is confusing to me.  Not because they are not wonderful – I think they are, but because I was not aware that so many other people think so too!  Whether you are inspired to crave the “bean” because it is nutritious, cheap, or, like me, believe it is the best food on the planet, if you have a bag, pull the drapes, lower the lights and let’s fire some up!  

If you have been caught unawares and do not have the delicious dried delicacies, you should walk away now.  I know you may have scored a few canned ones (may God have mercy upon us), but that is another post.  Having free-will, you are more than welcome to cook peas, green beans, butter beans or black beans, but I neither cook nor eat any of those so you will get no help from me on those.  

Pinto Beans

I like leftover pinto beans so I cook enough so that I can eat bowls for the next few days.  It is also wonderful to have some leftover beans in the refrigerator to add to a good homemade Mexican meal (as refried beans), or in leftover shredded beef roast and fajita seasonings to eat with tortilla chips (ask me for that recipe later).  So, the amounts below reflect my volume planning.  

1-2 lb bag of pinto beans 

Bacon grease 

Whole onion

Salt 

Water

Now, you can start mid-day and cook these puppies all afternoon, adding water and being a slave to the boil/simmer, water/salt-again dance, OR you can use an Instant Pot.  I am giving you the Instant Pot version reflecting my “need for speed!”   

1.     Add dried beans to a large bowl of water and wash them.  I mean really get in there with your hands and rumble those beans around.  Sometimes small clumps of dirt get in the drying process and turn into tiny rocks – if you do not remove them they will turn BACK into dirt in your beans.  Remove any non-perfect beans, small hard “rocks,” and the little empty “skins” of the beans floating around.  Pour beans through a colander and rinse the bowl.  All the beans go back to the bowl and rinse the beans again – you want clear water with no damaged beans.  

2.    Once you are sure the beans are clean, run them through the colander once again and dump them into the insert/pot in the Instant Pot.  

3.    Pour enough fresh water over the beans so that you have at least 3-4 inches of water above the level of the beans (the beans will be sitting on bottom of pot insert). NOTE:  You can add a couple of beef bouillon cubes or even beef broth in place of water – this is not “traditional” but the beans do like it and you will be rewarded with a richer flavor.  

4.    Add 3 T or more bacon grease.  By now, if you have been reading these recipes, you have a sealed container in your refrigerator with a quantity of bacon grease in it just for occasions like this.  If you do not, (and I hate to say this), but you can add a little vegetable oil.  Cuts me like a knife, but the beans will cook and most people will not know you have made this life decision.  

5.    Peel and add a whole onion – medium sized.  Just plop it in the pot.  It knows what to do.

6.    Pour some salt in.  Beans need salt.  They like salt.  You only have to do this one time, but you can add more later if your beans come out too bland.  

7.    Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set it for 45-50 minutes.  Walk away.  It is time to peel potatoes.  

8.    When the Instant Pot beeps, let it do a “slow release.”  When the lid opens easily, set it aside and push the “sauté” button – it will bring beans to a hard boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes.  The beans will be a bit standoffish toward each other until you do that last boil – they need to “bump up against each other” to knock all the flavor out, and it will make the broth a bit thicker.  

Stewed Potatoes 

This is the “country cooking” name for potatoes that you boil the heck out of.  They are peeled, cubed, added to water, boiled with added bacon grease and butter.  When they are almost completely “broken down” and only have random whole pieces of potatoes left, you have arrived. 

Ingredients:  

5-7 large potatoes (peeled and cubed, about 1-inch cubes)

Water 

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons bacon grease 

3 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1.    Peel and cube the potatoes, put in a medium pot and fill with water until it's about 2 inches above potatoes – add salt.  DO NOT PUT A LID ON the pot.  

2.    Bring to a boil (do not go too far away from the stove – the potatoes have to be boiled HARD for a while – do not let them run out of water, but do not add so much that the potato broth is thin).  

3.    When you think the potatoes are almost done (getting soft/mushy) – 

a.    Add bacon grease

b.    Add butter

4.    Keep cooking at a pretty good pace until the potatoes are broken down and thick.  The grease helps make this happen.  

5.    Once they get to this stage, put a lid on them and remove them from heat.  They need to sit quietly and wait patiently until you get ready to chow down on them. 

Cornbread is a must.  Can be cooked in the oven in a black skillet, turned into corn sticks with a black segmented type of skillet, poured into a muffin tin (or black skillet with muffin shapes), cooked as corn-cakes/hoe-cakes/fried cornbread, or cooked as hot water cornbread (I shared that recipe a while ago).  

Regardless of which type you are going to cook (except the hot water cornbread – totally different process), you can use the following:

1.     Season your black skillet/cooking pan liberally with bacon grease – put in hot oven and allow to get good and hot.

2.    In the meantime, mix about ¾ - 1 cup self-rising cornbread mix (not in a box … in a bag like flour) with enough milk (or buttermilk) to make it a good consistency – fairly thick.  Add more cornmeal mix or more milk till you get it like you like it.  

3.    Carefully remove the pan/skillet from oven and spoon/pour the mixture into it – if it is hot enough, it will sizzle.  It is teasing you!  Play along. 

4.    Cook in a hot oven (400-425 degrees) until it is good and brown.  I LOVE mine crunchy around the edges.  

Now, people, you have a meal fit for a king!  You will not miss the meat!  You will want to add some tomato relish (southern thing) to your bowl of beans, or cut a sweet onion or green onions, if you are so richly blessed.  Got to scoot now – beans are calling my name!  

Eat in good heath, thanksgiving, and in the spirit of blessing others as you are blessed.