Charro beans are a Tex Mex favorite in Austin, TX. Smoked charro beans are even better. Three hours in the smoker does the trick.
Smoked Charro Beans
Beans are very much a staple in my household, particularly with BBQ and Mexican food. Smoked charro beans are, by far, my favorite way to make beans. The smoke just gives them an unbelievable flavor. Carro beans go great with BBQ, Tex Mex, steaks, you name it. Give these a try.
Soak the Beans
Start with dried pinto beans and soak them overnight. I prefer to to use dried beans rather than canned beans because I think the texture of the final charro beans is just a bit better.
Sauté the Vegetables
Remove the stems and seeds from two jalapeño peppers and dice. This will reduce the heat in the cooked charro beans quite a bit. Sauté some bacon, onion and the diced jalapeño in a Dutch oven until bacon is cooked and the onion has softened.
Mix it All Together
Drain the beans and add them to the bacon and onion mixture. Add the water, chicken stock, tomatoes, paprika and chili powder. Stir the mixture well.
Smoked Charro Beans Need Time in the Smoker
Setup your smoker for indirect heat at 250˚K. Place the Dutch oven in the smoker, uncovered and cook for three hours.
After three hours, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the smoker and place it on your range top. Take a close look at the outside of the Dutch oven in the next photo. This is the same Dutch oven that went into the smoker three hours earlier. See all that discoloration on the outside? That’s smoke!
Simmer and Serve Smoked Charro Beans
Cover the beans and simmer over very low heat for another hour. Stir and serve. These are so easy to make and so good. Give them a try.
Checkout These Other Great Dishes
- Homemade Applewood Smoked Bacon
- Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
- Texas Hot Wings
- Smoked Blueberry Crisp
- Smoked Chocolate Chip Cookies
Watch the Video on YouTube
Smoked Charro Beans
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 1 lb pinto beans dried
- 6 cups water enough to cover the beans
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion diced,
- 2 jalapeño peppers
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 3 sprigs cilantro
- 2 tbs yellow onion diced
Instructions
The Night Before
- Cover the beans with water and soak overnight.
The Next Day
- Setup your smoker for indirect heat at 250°F. Soak a handful of wood chips (e.g. apple, cherry) in water for 30 minutes.
- Sauté the bacon, onion and jalapeño in a Dutch oven until bacon is cooked and the onion has softened.
- Drain the pinto beans and add them to the bacon and onion mixture. Add water, chicken stock, tomatoes, paprika and chili powder.
- Add soaked wood chips to the smoker. Move the Dutch oven to the smoker and smoke for 3 hours, uncovered. Remove from the smoker.
- Simmer on the range top for one hour. Garnish with diced onions and cilantro and serve.
How are they smoked, when they are covered with a heavy Dutch oven lid for 3 hours? Seems like a waste of whatever you fuel your smoker with. I suggest a bit more liquid, leave the lid off and stirring every 30 minutes.
Excellent question! Actually, the recipe is wrong! I did NOT cover the beans, they went in the smoker uncovered. I have updated the recipe to reflect this, thanks for catching my mistake. You can watch the video here. https://youtu.be/DyTtG_Yl6QQ