The beans below were served with the first turkey I did in the Big Easy–an infrared turkey fryer. They rank as one of the best pots of pinto beans I ever made.

1 lb. pinto beans
1 t Cumin
1 t black pepper, course ground
1.5 T chicken base from Sam’s
1 large onion
Smoked ham hock

Began the process below about 6 AM.

1.  Dropped beans into boiling water, covered and turned off to sit for an hour.

2.  Poured off sugars in the water and rinsed lightly.

3.  Put into small cast iron dutch oven, covered with filtered water, added spices and base and brought to a slow boil for maybe a minuted then turned down to simmer without a lid.

4.  Added water as needed to keep covered. Added onion after a couple of hours.

5.  Added ham hock after maybe 4 hours.

6.  Pot simmered until we went shopping in late morning during which the fire was off and no lid. When we returned I turned it back on and it simmered for several more hours.

7.  Mary says I always over cook beans so she turned it off several times during the afternoon but I would find out and turn it back on for a while.

7 PM – The beans were great with the first turkey in the Big Easy. Also see Kelley’s corn bread recipe she created tonight that was TDF; i.e. To Die For.