Evening, gents. Got a pipe going here, and some Miles Davis, a little Perrier and orange juice... you know, to smooth out the rough edges, and every now and then, I put down my pipe, and stir the pot...

Trout Bum's Ultra Tip-Top 4th O' July Secret Beans

Check it out: take a big ol' hunk of ham, like a breakfast steak, trim fat, put fat in pan, and fry it on up, so that the fat renders on down, and begins to sizzle and spit, ya like that, so fry up that pork fat, medium heat, and save the grease, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup or so... and toss out the fried up pork fat/"chicherones" -- Mexican term for fried up pork fat -- or feed 'em to your dog, or eat 'em yourself, they're pretty good, or, if it suits you, use bacon fat, but anyways...

You save that tasty pork fat, cause into that grease ya gotta toss in the chopped up ham, some onions, and some garlic... fry all that up nice and neat.... then start digging around for some fun stuff to add in there... don't be afraid to get creative... in the freezer I had some chile verde sauce (hot! I am talking Southwest Hot!) that I had made up a few months ago, so in the pot it went, maybe 4 or 5 cups or so, then, add in a few cans of pintos, a few cans of kidney beans, a can of chopped tomatos, then some molasses, two table spoons or so, and then just a touch or three of some red wine vinegar, and some fresh chopped up fire roasted green chiles -- just happened to have some, but you could use fresh jalepenos -- cause ya not only gotta layer the flavors, but ya gotta layer the heat, too...

Then start adding whatever feels good, whatever is laying around, like how's about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup or so of some "Honey Chipolte" Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce... just because it was sitting there in the fridge, kinda lonely like, begging to do something... let's see here, what else, oh, ya, some salt and pepper, maybe some garlic salt if you're feeling it, and stir it all up and let it simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or so, until it thickens and looks super yummy... and remember to stir! and basically what you're looking for is to conclude all this with some mind bogglingly tasty beans, a little sweet, a lotta flavor, so much flavor that it could be transcendental, and sneaky hot, ya gotta have the hot with the sweet! And then enjoy with friends and family on the 4th of July!!!!

But remember, it all starts with pork fat, onions, and garlic. Oh ya, and some chopped ham, too. But if you follow this recipe (ha!) EXACTLY, or just simply use it as a basic guideline, as it's always a little different, based on what's at hand, your mood, what the weather is doing... But if you more or less follow this recipe, and build up from the pork fat, onions and garlic, and maybe throw in some good mojo to boot, these beans should make a great side dish at the neighborhood barbecue!

I'll be over with my bowl about 2 ish?

Happy 4th Bro

As we say here in east Tennessee, "That'll make ya tongue slap your brains out!"

Bet this makes you real "regular" also!! FTRPLT