At the Hearth with Seasoned Sorcery

🌶🔥 Borracho Beans, the Tex-NUMEX Way

Some recipes aren’t written.
They’re remembered.

I met my husband in San Antonio. We were married during Fiesta. In South Texas, borracho beans aren’t an accessory — they’re expected. They show up beside brisket like they’ve earned their place. Smoky, brothy, unapologetic.

They aren’t technically Hispanic food. They’re Tex-Mex. BBQ table food. The kind that simmers in a big pot while brisket rests and someone argues about sauce.

But I learned to love heat in Santa Fe.

Middle school in New Mexico changes you. Red chile comes on everything. Green chile is a language. And if someone asks “red, green, or Christmas?” you answer like it matters — because it does.

Jon’s food memories lean Tex-Mex and smokehouse — beer in the beans, brisket on the pit, long tables and loud conversation.

Mine lean New Mexican — red chile, deep broth, heat that builds slowly and stays.

So this pot is where those two memories meet.

🌶 About the Blend

Rio Grande Reckoning is built around red chile first.

New Mexico red chile is the backbone — earthy, slightly fruity, and meant to stain the broth deep brick red.

Ancho adds body and depth without sweetness.
Toasted cumin brings warmth.
Garlic and onion build the savory base.
Oregano, bay, and thyme give it structure.
Black and white pepper layer the heat so it builds steadily instead of burning sharp.

It’s intentionally crafted as an add-your-own-salt blend.

That means you control the salt level depending on:

• Whether you’re using bouillon

• Whether you’re adding smoked meat

• Whether you’re cooking dry or canned beans

What’s not in it matters too.

No sugar.
No anti-caking agents.
No filler paprika just for color.
No flour.
No pre-added salt.

Just chile-forward structure built for long simmering.

🫘 Why There’s a Fast Version

There’s another reason this recipe has a shortcut built into it.

When Jon was in the Army, he had a habit of deciding at 10 a.m. that we were having a barbecue — and inviting half his unit.

People would start showing up by noon.

No gentle planning. No weeklong prep. Just brisket on the smoker and “we’ll figure out the sides.”

That’s when you learn how to cook for a crowd fast.

This bean recipe had to work whether I had soaked dry beans overnight… or whether I was standing in the grocery aisle grabbing two large cans because we suddenly needed to feed twenty people.

And it had to be good either way.

Because when soldiers show up hungry, you don’t get points for fancy.

You get points for flavor and volume.

This pot does both.

🫘 You Don’t Have to Be Fancy

Dry beans are beautiful.

But canned beans are practical.

Fresh tomatoes are wonderful.

But diced tomatoes from the pantry work just fine.

If you’re using canned beans and tomatoes, don’t drain them. That liquid is flavor. It thickens the broth and makes a quick pot taste like it simmered all afternoon.

When I’m in a rush, I’ll boil the ham hock with onion, garlic, and bouillon until tender, shred the meat, then pour in two large cans of beans with their juice.

Undrained tomatoes go in too.

Beer. Seasoning. Cilantro stems.

Let it simmer long enough to marry together.

It still turns deep red.
It still builds heat.
It still earns its place next to brisket.

The magic isn’t in how complicated it is.

It’s in the simmer.

🔥 The Recipe (Kitchen-Tested)

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry pinto beans
  OR 2 large cans pinto beans (undrained)

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 3–4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1–2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
  OR 1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)

• 1 ham hock

• 1–2 tsp beef bouillon (to taste)

• 1 Mexican beer

• 4 Tbsp Rio Grande Reckoning

• Stems from 1 bundle fresh cilantro, chopped

• Salt, to taste

• Fresh lime juice

• Fresh cilantro leaves for serving

From-Scratch Version

1. Add dry beans to a large pot with onion, garlic, tomatoes, bouillon, and ham hock.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer until beans and ham hock are tender.

3. Remove the ham hock, shred the meat, and return it to the pot.

4. Add beer, seasoning, and cilantro stems.

5. Continue simmering until the broth deepens and turns red.

6. Salt to taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Quick Crowd Version

1. Simmer ham hock with onion, garlic, and bouillon until tender.

2. Remove the ham hock, shred the meat, and return it to the pot.

3. Add canned beans with their juice.

4. Add canned tomatoes undrained.

5. Pour in the beer, add the seasoning, and stir in cilantro stems.

6. Use less additional water than you would with dry beans — the bean and tomato liquid will thicken the broth naturally.

7. Simmer 20–30 minutes to let the flavors develop.

8. Salt and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve borracho-style — in a bowl with plenty of red broth.

Finish with fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro.

From Our Hearth to Yours

This recipe exists because real life doesn’t always give you eight quiet hours in the kitchen.

Sometimes you have two hours and twenty hungry soldiers.

Sometimes you just need a side that shows up strong.

South Texas smokehouse backbone.
New Mexico red chile heat.
One Dutch oven.

Let it simmer.
Let it stain the spoon red.

— Carol