Here’s a Texas/Norteño-style frijoles charros with mayocobas and pork brothy, smoky, chile-forward, not sweet, and built around the pork bones. Mayocobas aren’t the default Texas-Mexican bean, pintos are, but they’re excellent: creamy, quick-cooking, and still very compatible with charro flavors.

Ingredients

  • Beans & pork

    • 450–500 g (1 lb) dried mayocoba beans, picked over and rinsed
    • About 1 kg (2 - 3 lbs) carnitas or country-style pork ribs
    • 2–3 slices smoked bacon, diced, optional but recommended
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2–2½ tsp kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
    • 8–10 cups water, as needed

  • Aromatics

    • 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
    • 5–6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
    • 2–4 fresh serranos, sliced or minced
    • 2–4 dried red chiles, such as chile de árbol if you have them; in a pinch, dried Chinese red chiles also work well
    • 1 tbsp tomato paste
    • 1 can hot Rotel tomatoes, or diced tomatoes plus extra green chile
    • 1–2 tbsp pickled jalapeño brine, optional but very good

  • Spices & seasoning

    • 2 tsp ground cumin, or 1½ tsp cumin seeds toasted and ground
    • 1 tsp Mexican oregano if available, or regular dried oregano
    • ½ tsp smoked paprika
    • ½ tsp black pepper
    • ¼–½ tsp cayenne or smoked serrano powder, optional
    • ½ tsp MSG or chicken powder, optional but useful
    • 1–2 tsp chicken stock base or bouillon, optional; adjust salt if using

  • Finishing

    • Lime juice, to taste
    • Fresh cilantro, strongly recommended if you can get it
    • Green onion, thinly sliced, optional
    • Pickled jalapeños, chopped, optional
    • Warm corn tortillas, for serving

Directions

  1. Optional but recommended: quick-soak the beans. Cover the mayocobas with plenty of water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit 1 hour. Drain.
    • If skipping the soak, just rinse the beans and expect a longer cook.
  2. Brown the pork. Pat the ribs dry and season with about 1 tsp kosher salt and black pepper. If using a boneless fatty cut like carnitas, cut into larger pieces. In a Dutch oven, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until it renders and lightly browns. Remove excess fat if there’s more than about 2 tbsp in the pot.
  3. Sear the pork. Brown the pieces of meat well on multiple sides in the bacon fat. Don’t rush this; the browned pork flavor is part of what makes the broth taste like it cooked all day.
  4. Build the sofrito. Push the pork aside or remove it temporarily. Add the onion and serranos to the pot and cook until the onion softens and starts picking up browned bits, 5–7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne or smoked serrano powder if using, and dried red chiles. Cook 30–60 seconds.
  5. Fry the tomato paste. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the fat and aromatics for 1–2 minutes, until it darkens slightly.
  6. Simmer the pork and beans. Add the drained beans, bay leaves, Rotel, 8 cups water, and optional chicken base/MSG. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Skim any foam.
  7. Cook until tender. Simmer partially covered until the beans are creamy and the pork is pull-apart tender, usually:
    • Quick-soaked mayocobas: about 1½–2 hours
    • Unsoaked mayocobas: about 2–2½ hours
      Add more hot water as needed to keep the beans generously brothy.
  8. Season after the beans soften. Once the beans are mostly tender, add another 1 tsp kosher salt. Continue cooking until the beans are fully tender and the broth tastes porky and slightly thickened.
  9. Shred the pork. Remove the ribs. Pull the meat from the bones, chop or shred it into bite-size pieces, and return the meat to the pot. Discard bones and any large pieces of gristle.
  10. Adjust the broth. Simmer uncovered 10–20 minutes if you want it thicker, or add water if you want it more like a soup. Stir in pickled jalapeño brine and lime juice to taste.
  11. Finish and serve. Taste for salt, heat, and acidity. Serve with cilantro, green onion, chopped pickled jalapeños, and warm corn tortillas.

Notes

  • For more Texas-Mexican authenticity: pintos are the classic bean, but mayocobas are still a great choice. The core charro profile is beans cooked brothy with pork, onion, chile, tomato, cumin/oregano, and fresh herbs.
  • Don’t add too much acid early. A can of Rotel is fine, but if your beans are old or stubborn, hold back the tomatoes until the beans are halfway tender. Acid can slow softening.
  • Make it hotter without making it harsh: simmer whole dried chiles in the pot, then fish them out and blend them with a ladle of bean broth before stirring back in. This gives deeper chile flavor than just dumping in cayenne.
  • Good additions if you have or buy them:
    • Fresh cilantro: very worthwhile here.
    • Fresh jalapeño or poblano: good alongside the serranos.
    • Mexican oregano: more authentic than Mediterranean oregano.
    • A small amount of chorizo: traditional-ish and delicious, but with 1 kg pork ribs plus bacon, you don’t need it.
  • Pressure cooker shortcut: Brown everything as directed, but cook the beans, pork, bay, spices, and water under high pressure for about 35 minutes if soaked or 45 minutes if unsoaked, then natural release 20 minutes. For best bean texture, add the Rotel/tomato after pressure cooking and simmer 15–20 minutes.