Check out this thread. It is one of my favorite go to recipe's. Having 9 pages of comments is proof that people really like it.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7795390/1

I got to know the owner of La Familia in Fort Worth over by the old Monkey Wards building. The beans he served as a side dish were simply awesome. Al would usually come sit with us and chat while we ate. I bragged on the beans and asked how to make them, and I’ll be darned if he didn’t!

It’s more of a pinto bean soup and best made in small batches...

Wash a pound of pintos and put them on to boil at high heat.

Chop up a fresh tomato (canned chopped is good too), a big sweet yellow onion, and a handful of lean bacon chunks. Put all this in a cast iron skillet and cook it down until the tomatoes are almost black. Add SPG to taste. Dump all this in the pot of now boiling beans, and in Al’s words ‘Boil the pizz out of ‘em’ on high heat. Keep adding boiling water to keep the broth well above the beans. You’re making bean soup, not beans. Bring the flavor up to your liking with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Al really pushed the garlic powder. He picked up my empty bean bowl and pointed to the little specks on the inside edge of the bowl. ‘That’s all garlic powder. If that’s not there, there’s not enough garlic powder in there.’

You boil these hard until the skin will peel off the beans when you blow on them, and just a little bit more until they’re tender. You don’t want a thick broth. Correct the seasoning by tasting the broth, not the beans. This is another ‘quick beans’ recipe, it cooks fast, maybe 90 minutes.

Ladle in a soup bowl and enjoy. We make crunchy corn sticks in an old Griswald corn stick cast iron pan that go perfectly with the soup. Al served fresh tortilla chips with his.

Al is gone now, but his legacy lives on in my kitchen. He also shared his Chipotle Chicken Fajita recipe with me. That one will start to gas you as it gets done. When you lock up and can’t breath, it’s done.

I asked for, and got some good advice.

I went with a spin on what Cast put out there.

2 lbs beans, sorted and washed
1 sweet onion
tbsp salt
tbsp pepper
1 fresh jalepeno, cored and chopped
1 small can chile's
4 garlic cloves
1 lb smoked andouille

Brought to a low boil and covered, two hours. Added boiling water, let go covered at a simmer for 2-3 hours. Fantastic full flavor with a perfect after kick of pepper.

Thanks Cast.

Lookup CCBirddogmans bean recipe.....the best i've made.

That’s a good looking pot of beans. Happy to help. I guess I’ve been cooking beans since the third grade.

Good looking pot of beans.