June 29, 2022

My entire family travels to Ararat, VA each summer for a week long vacation in the beautiful mountains! We rent a cabin near the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy a slow, relaxing week together. The kids love exploring the outdoors, the adults get super competitive over evening board game sessions, and best of all – we eat DELICIOUS and awesome food all week long.

There is a small deli down the mountain – The Gap Deli – that serves pinto beans and cornbread. I’ve enjoyed it for the past few years each time we visit and this year decided I HAD to make them myself when I got home.

Here is my closest recreation! Serve it along side some honey cornbread and make it a meal. Add some raw chopped onions or chow chow to the top and enjoy!

Southern Pinto Beans

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Recipe by Chelsea Course: SidesDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8-10

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hours

Ingredients

16 oz dry pinto beans
1 tbsp olive oil
6 slices bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 bayleaf
4 tsp chicken broth granules
2 tsp salt, more to taste if needed

Directions

Follow instructions on the bag of beans – you can either soak them overnight or boil them for about 10 minutes until slightly soft. (For the recipe I have written out, I simply boiled them for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Drain.
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
Turn heat to low. Add beans, bacon, salt, chicken broth granules, bay leaf, and sugar to the pot.
Cover all ingredients with cool water – enough to cover the beans by 2 inches.
Turn heat to medium, until the beans come to a light boil. Stir, and reduce heat back to low.
Stir the beans occasionally – about every 10 minutes – keeping them on a very light boil.
** This step takes the longest as it will require PATIENCE and a lot of stirring. I promise it’s WORTH IT **
** Also, TASTE the beans each time you stir. This will give you the best idea on how done they are **
The liquid will reduce slowly and the beans will become softer over time. They are finished when squishy soft and the liquid is reduced.
Taste the beans! Add salt if needed.