My favorite beans in Austin are served at Fresa’s. I have been working on a home version and I am getting close. Apparently it has a lot to do with lard.
Rancho Gordo is an impressive company. They sell many kinds of high quality (and highly tasty) heirloom beans. I am using Cranberry. As for the ‘soak’, there are a few directions. A quick simmer or the overnight cold soak seem to be the most common. So, of course, I opted for the middle of the road. Warm water, three hour soak. It worked out fine. There also seems to be a debate on keeping the soaking liquid or tossing it out. I tossed it, but I want to do more testing on that.
The flavor pack for cooking is bacon, onions, cilantro, chilis and tomatoes. Oh, ya, and beer. That is where the borracho comes in.
Here are the beans liquified into refried beans. Great for tacos.