Recipe: Frijoles Puercos

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Post sponsored by Gigasavvy. All opinions are my own.

Recently, a friend of mine posted on social media about always having beans in your fridge. She stated that her dad always made sure they had beans in the house at all times. When I read that, I couldn’t help but laugh because my mami always says the same thing.

En mi casa, nunca faltan los frijoles. Si no hay nada más que comer, siempre habrá frijoles.

In my home, we never run out of beans. If there’s nothing else to eat, there will always be beans.

Growing up Hispanic, I always had beans on my plate. Refried or plainly cooked- there was frijoles.  I consider my mom the cook in our family and boy, does she know how to cook a pot of beans. There’s nothing to it really, but there’s something about the way my mom cooks them, that they come out flavorful, soft and oh so delicious.  This is what I love about my heritage. Myself, with millions of other Latinos, old and young, have grown up eating beans, and while some of the recipes may have changed, the memories attached to them, never will.

Frijoles Puercos

1 lb. bag of pinto beans (cooked how you like)

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

2 jalapeños, sliced to your liking

5-6 strips of raw Low Sodium bacon, chopped into squares

1 9 oz pack of chorizo (beef or any other!)

4 slices of sandwich ham, cut into small squares

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp Cotija or Panela cheese

Salt and pepper

You need to pre-cook your frijole ahead of time. Follow instructions on the package. Do not drain afterwards!!!

Start by cutting your bacon into small squares. On medium heat, cook the bacon for 1 minute and then squeeze the chorizo out and cook together. Now, you’re are going to start smelling the AMAZING aroma of chorizo and bacon cooking together. I mean, this has got to be what the Mexican cocina in heaven smells like. WOW! Cook for 5 mins.

Once that cooks, you can drain some of the excess oil or you can just leave it in the pot. I don’t know why my bacon and chorizo didn’t release a whole lot of oil, so I decided to leave what little oil was there, just for flavor sake.

Once the chorizo is well blended with the bacon, add your onions, garlic and jalapeños. I sliced my jalapeños into circles only because it will be easier to fish out if any of the kids don’t want to eat the jalapeños. So, you can cut the jalapeños any way your little heart pleases. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 mins.

Next, add the ham. Continue string until all is well blended, like around 2 mins.

Now we add the beans.  I feed a family of 5, so I used the whole pound of beans. Pour the beans and the soup it was cooked in and mix all ingredients together. Cover and simmer for 5 mins. or until beans are hot. Serve in a serving bowl, top with some chopped cilantro and sprinkle with cheese.

¡buen provecho!

All the products mentioned above were bought at my local Northgate Market. From now until October 1st, visit your nearest Northgate Market store to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month for all your cultural culinary needs. Northgate will be your on-stop shop for all your Hispanic Heritage Celebrations. For events and event locations, click here!

For Northgate Markets Locations, click here or visit any of these locations:

W. Chapman Ave. / Placentia
710 W. Chapman Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870 Northgate #34
E. Lincoln Ave / Anaheim
2030 E. Lincoln Ave
Anaheim, CA 92806 Northgate #40
N. East St. / Anaheim
1150 N. East St.
Anaheim, CA 92805

For more info check out the Northgate Market website and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.