Texas barbecue just wouldn’t be the same without beans. While they may not get the same glory as the BBQ itself, this side dish boasts Texas-sized flavor. And, just like barbecue, chefs closely guard their bean recipes (and many compete for prizes at barbecue cookoffs in the jackpot bean category seen at many events.)
If you say you want “beans” at a BBQ restaurant or cookoff, you’ll be getting pinto beans. According to Texas A&M, over 18,000 acres across the Lone Star State grow pinto beans, especially in the High Plains area of Northwest Texas.
Wherever you go, though, these beans rule the menus–and the kitchens–in Texas. Here are 5 easy Texas pinto beans recipes from barbecue restaurants and cookoff competitors that will have you cooking beans like a pro!
Table of Contents
These recipes first appeared in our Texas Barbecue book.
The County Line’s Beans Easy Chuck Wagon Style Beans
The County Line, the immensely popular chain of upscale barbecue restaurants that began in Austin, offers two home recipes for tasty beans. When the cupboard is half empty, there’s the simple version with just nine ingredients. When you’re fully stocked, pull out all the stops for the Texas Barbecued Beans version with pork and molasses which you’ll find below.
Ingredients
1 pound dry pinto beans
1/2 cup diced onions
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup chopped bacon
Instructions
Rinse beans thoroughly; drain.
Place all ingredients in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover beans with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce flame and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding water when needed. Cook until beans are tender.
Serves 6 to 8
The County Line’s Texas Barbecued Beans
Ingredients for Beans:
2 pounds dry pinto beans
1 tablespoon salt
1 whole onion, peeled and split through (secure with two wooden picks to hold together)
2 large cloves garlic, with a wooden pick inserted into each
1/4 pound salt pork, slab bacon, or smoked jaw
Tabasco sauce to taste
Ingredients for Sauce:
1/3 cup shortening
2 cups very finely minced onion
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups tomato juice (or 3-4 cup tomato sauce, or 1/3 cup tomato paste diluted to make 2 cups)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
Soak beans overnight in water to cover plus 2 quarts. Discard water and rinse beans thoroughly.
Transfer to a large pot and cover with water to 1 inch above surface of beans.
Add salt, onion, garlic, and salt pork.
Cover and simmer over medium heat until beans are tender, not mushy. Remove from heat.
In a saucepan, heat shortening and minced onions over high heat. Sauté until onions are limp and translucent.
Add flour and stir until mixture turns yellow. Remove from heat and add tomato juice, salt and pepper. Stir until lump-free.
Discard onion and garlic from beans. Ladle some beans into sauce, then stir sauce back into bean pot. Stir in brown sugar and molasses.
Remove salt pork, cut into small pieces about the size of the beans, and stir pieces back in.
Add Tabasco sauce.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, then remove from heat. Let stand at least 1 hour before serving.
Serves 16 to 20
Dagar’s Beans
Dagar’s Catering of Austin has been catering large parties since the 1950s. The company started as a barbecue business but branched out to serve just about anything anybody wants. This bean recipe serves 100, but you can cut it down if you don’t have a horde to feed.
10 pounds dry pinto beans
6 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
6 tablespoons ground cumin
6 tablespoons chili powder
6 tablespoons granulated garlic
6 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons black pepper
Rinse beans and soak overnight in cold water. Drain, rinse, and transfer to a very large pot, then cover with fresh water. Add salt, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper, and boil for 2 hours.
Stir in remaining ingredients and turn heat down halfway. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours, stirring so beans don’t stick and adding water if necessary.
(Note: Dagar’s says this recipe results in a thick, rich gravy. If you want to dress the beans up a little or make a meal out of them, add a 1-gallon can of crushed tomatoes and 5 pounds of cooked ground hamburger meat.)
Serves 100
Dixieland Delight’s Pinto Beans
The members of Thorndale’s Dixieland Delight barbecue team said there’s one secret to making good beans: “Put ‘em on and let ‘em go.” These fellows don’t worry too much about their beans, and they sure don’t worry about the recipe. They say that the beans turn out a little different every time, depending on what spices they have at hand. After lots of discussion, however they’ve come up with a recipe for their super spicy beans.
Do like the Dixieland Delight guys do—throw in a shake of this and a sprinkle of that, sit it all on the firebox, and just let ‘em go.
1 pound dry pinto beans
2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles
3 shakes of salt
Sprinkle of ground cumin
1-2 teaspoon hot chili powder
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sprinkle of dried basil
2 shakes of black pepper
3 jalapeno peppers, sliced
1/2 pound bacon
1 1015 onion, diced
Rinse beans and soak covered in water overnight. Drain beans, rinse well, and transfer to a large pot. Add remaining ingredients and cover with fresh water. Cover pot and cook on a firebox for about 6 hours or on the stove for about 5 to 6 hours. (If cooking on the stove, check more frequently and stir to keep beans from sticking and burning.)
Serves 12
This recipe first appeared in our Texas Barbecue book.
Georgetown VFD Beans
More than one volunteer fire department uses an annual barbecue dinner to raise funds for equipment. When these firemen get smokin’, they turn out some of the best’ que in the state.
8 pounds dry pinto beans
1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup salt
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
Rinse beans and soak in water overnight. Drain and rinse well, then transfer beans to a large pot.Cover with water to 1 inch above beans and then place over heat.After beans begin to simmer, add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours or until beans are tender.
SERVES 80