Borracho Beans (Slow Cooker Or Instant Pot)

Borracho Beans – These “drunken beans” are simmered with a can of BEER and can be made in your slow cooker or instant pot! The bacon, sausage or chorizo, jalepenos, tomato, onion, garlic, herbs, and beer make these the BEST beans ever! A wonderful side for any Mexican-themed meal! I love saucy beans with lots of robust flavor and if you fall into that group, you’re going to love these juicy borracho beans. definitely recommend a darker beer for this recipe. I used Negro Modelo. Although I’m sure you could use a paler beer however for my personal preferences the beans taste better when simmered in a darker beer.

Although you won’t actually get drunk from the relatively low quantity of beer compared to the volume of beans this recipe makes, the beer adds such wonderful depth of flavor. The explosion of flavor however doesn’t stop with just the beer. There’s also bacon, sausage or chorizo, and a mixture of other aromatic ingredients such as onions, garlic, jalapenos, and various spices.

I tend to use precooked smoked sausage, usually sold in a horseshoe or ring shape that I slice thin. This lends to bigger bites of sausage in the finished dish although you can use uncooked sausage. If that’s the option you’re using, it’s easiest to use sausage that’s not in the casings, although you still could if that’s all you have. This type of sausage will be much more crumbled or ground in the finished dish, similar to how chorizo will be. Use anything from mild to spicy or smoked, it’s totally up to you based on your preference.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dry Pinto Beans, sorted and washed OR two-16 ounce cans pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• 6 cups water
• 4 teaspoons salt, divided; plus more if needed
• 5 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 cup smoked sausage*, sliced into thin slices OR 1 cup chorizo
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• one-12 ounce can beer**
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
• 1 Roma tomato, diced small
• 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (regular oregano can be substituted)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 lime, juiced