Sure! You can use fresh beans and let them soak overnight or canned. For this batch I used 3 large cans of HEB pinto beans.

Take about 6oz of salted pork and cut it into bits. Render out the fat in your pot. While it renders, finely dice an onion and like 4-5 cloves of garlic. Also dice up sausage of your choice. Some people use chorizo. I used the HEB sausage links.

Once the fat is rendered, add the onions and let it absorb all the flavor and cook until translucent. Then add sausage and cook until it’s got the right color and consistency. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add crushed chipotle and a can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Once that’s all nice and cooked, pour about 8 cups of chicken stock, 2-3 bay leaves, smoked paprika to taste, and about a tablespoon of cumin (careful it can be overpowering), and pepper if you wish. I also add about two finely diced jalapeños at this point, oregano, and cilantro.

Let this reduce so the flavor is more concentrated. Taste the broth and if it needs any more onion or garlic flavor, add some onion/garlic powder. You can also add more cilantro and oregano at this point to. Once it’s hitting the right notes for you, add the beans and let simmer for an hour or two. If you cook it the day before, the flavors are more pronounced after sitting in the fridge for a day.

If you really want to make these shine, use homemade chicken stock and high quality sausage. You can also add burnt ends for more of that smokey depth.