These slow-cooked cowboy beans are a great side dish for a summer barbecue. Forget the canned variety — these are easy to make with pinto beans, ham shank, barbecue sauce, and a secret flavor-enhancing ingredient.
Let’s be honest. If you’re a certain age in this country and you don’t live on a ranch that has real life cowboys, for example, when I give you the words “cowboy beans,” what do you think of?
uh huh You too? Yeah, can’t escape this. The cowboy bean scene in Blazing Saddles.
Humorous cultural references aside, cowboy beans actually are Welland an excellent accompaniment to summer barbecues.
Ingredients for cowboy beans
There are probably as many versions of cowboy beans as there are grill cooks. Usually there is one or more types of beans, sometimes smoked meat such as bacon or ham, sometimes with minced meat, always with a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.
What makes this scratch-cooked version aside from the beans is a sweet barbecue sauce, cured meats, and coffee.
yes coffee
The secret ingredient in cowboy beans
Coffee adds a depth of flavor and a slight bitterness that keeps the sweet and tangy barbecue sauce in balance.
Which smoked meat to use for cowboy beans?
For the smoked meat, bacon works, in this version we use a smoked ham shank. Traditionally, you would use the odd, slightly burned ends of Texas Barbecue Brisket or Tri-Tip.
The key is to impart a smoky flavor to meats that can be cooked for a long time.
Don’t have smoked meat available? You can use ground beef (cooked) and add some liquid smoke.
What beans to use for cowboy beans
As for the beans? You can use any of these beans for cowboy beans, or a combination:
- pinto beans
- kidney beans
- Black beans
- White kidney beans
For this recipe, we’re cooking our beans from scratch, starting with dry pinto beans. If you prefer, you can use canned beans instead. You will need four 15 ounce cans, drained.
Want to make your beans from scratch? Here’s how to cook them on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker.
Tips for cooking dry beans
The only problem that people may encounter when preparing beans from scratch in a recipe like this is that the beans will not soften even after long cooking. Many things can cause this. Beans like to be stored cool and dry. If you store beans in a humid, warm environment, they will harden. Calcium can harden beans, so cooking with hard water can cause the beans to harden as well. Finally, old beans take longer to cook. So what to do?
- Soak the dry beans overnight in lots of water. This will help “open” the beans before cooking.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt and/or 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every liter of soaking water. Both replace some of the minerals that cause the beans to harden.
- Do not add BBQ sauce until beans are tender enough to eat. BBQ sauce contains sugar and calcium that keep the beans from going soft.
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Check out this easy cowboy beans recipe
How to cook cowboy beans in a slow cooker or crock pot
Follow steps 1 and 2 in the guide as directed. Transfer the soaked beans and onion-garlic mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add ham, water, some salt, coffee and barbecue sauce. Stir and cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the beans aren’t falling apart. When the beans are done cooking, taste for seasoning and add more salt as needed and add the pickled jalapeños if using.
Amazing BBQ recipes to complement cowboy beans
- BBQ chicken on the grill
- Instant Pot BBQ Baby Back Ribs
- Braised BBQ Beef Sandwich
- cucumber salad
- Papa’s potato salad
From the editors of Simply Recipes
cowboy beans
If you have hard water or are having trouble softening beans, try adding 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the soaking water.
If you want to use canned beans, use 4 (15-ounce cans), drained. Combine steps 3 and 4 and add the beans with ham and BBQ sauce. Simmer on low until the meat of the ham shank separates from the bone.
If not using the bacon fat, use 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
ingredients
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2 cups dried pinto beans (about 12 ounces)
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1 tablespoon bacon
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1 tablespoon vegetable oil
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1 Middle yellow onion, chopped
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5 cloves garlicchopped
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1 smoked ham ankle or ham leg
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2 cups water
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kosher salt, taste
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2 cups brewed coffee
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1 1/2 cups tomato based barbecue sauce
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1/4 Cup chopped pickled jalapenos for garnish, optional
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Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese for garnish Optional
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1/4 Cup chopped Red onion for garnish, optional
method
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Soaking beans:
Place the beans in a large saucepan and cover with a few inches of water. Soak the beans overnight and then drain.
Alternatively, bring a saucepan with the beans covered with 2 inches of water to a boil, remove from heat and let soak for an hour, then drain.
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Cooking onion and garlic:
Heat the bacon fat and vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent and just beginning to brown.
Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
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Add the beans, ham, water, salt, and coffee and bring to a simmer:
Add the drained beans to the onions in the pot. Add the ham, the water, a little salt and the coffee.
Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 to 2 hours. (Some beans take longer to cook, especially if they’re older.) The beans should be soft enough to chew, but not mushy.
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Add the BBQ sauce and continue cooking:
Add the barbecue sauce and stir. Cover and simmer over low heat until the meat of the shank begins to separate from the bone, up to 2 hours.
After an hour, check the beans every 15 minutes. When the beans begin to break down, remove from heat.
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Strip the ham leg and season the beans:
When the beans are done cooking, pull out the ham shank and separate the meat from the bone. Add the meat to the beans and discard the bone.
Add salt to taste. Add pickled jalapeños to taste for some spiciness if desired.
Serve with some grated cheese and chopped red onion.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 249 | calories |
| 4g | Fat |
| 43g | carbohydrates |
| 10g | protein |
