Pinto Beans (Dried)

Buy pintos with even pinkish-brown speckles and intact skins. Faded, dusty, or cracked beans have been sitting around a year or more and can take 30–50% longer to cook, so shop somewhere with real turnover on the bulk bins. Rinse and pick through for small stones, soak overnight, then drain and cook in fresh water with an onion half, a couple garlic cloves, and a bay leaf. Store cooked beans in their liquid to prevent the skin from splitting: 4–5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer. I freeze flat bags of pintos in their broth so refried beans go from freezer to table in 15 minutes.

Pinto beans are the bean to master if you only master one. They are the base for refried beans, the classic for charro beans and Texas chili, and a pound of dried pintos costs about the same as one can. Soak them overnight, then keep the pot at a low simmer for 60–90 minutes: a hard boil splits the skins and turns the outsides to mush before the middles go creamy. And no, you don't have to soak. Unsoaked beans just need an extra 30–60 minutes on the stove or skip the debate entirely with an Instant Pot. The no-soak Instant Pot method is my weeknight default 8 days of the week.