# Instant Pot Pinto Beans (Frijoles Charros) + Turkey Roast



## xray (Jan 6, 2020)

I was gifted an Instant Pot for Christmas and I have been playing around with it quite a bit. So far, it has produced excellent eggs for pickling and awesome Pork n' Sauerkraut. A litmus test of mine for this Instant Pot was to make beans without soaking. I must say, these came out pretty good. Since my wife and I tend to eat beans for a meal, I had a double recipe but I was unsure if it would all fit, so I ended up doing these pinto beans in two batches.

*Instant Pot Pintos*

1lb. dried Pinto beans, rinsed 
1/2lb. of bacon, diced
1 qt. chicken stock
1 large onion
1 poblano pepper, roasted and diced with skins removed
1 jalapeno, roasted and diced with skins removed
4 roma tomatoes (didn't have on hand so I subbed one can of fire roasted garlic tomatoes)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2tsp. ancho chile powder
1tsp. cumin
2 bay leaves.

First, onions and peppers were charred and pepper skins were removed. If I had tomatoes on hand I would have roasted them at this step:












Place Instant Pot on saute. Once IP says "hot" saute bacon until crispy






Once bacon is crispy, add onions and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape any browned bits from the bottom. (You will get the burn notice on the IP, and it won't pressurize).  Once onions and peppers are soft, add chopped garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes, be careful not to burn. 






Add tomatoes and lightly cook.






Next, add 1lb. dried pinto beans, chicken stock, bay leaves and spices.  Seal IP pot and set your timer for 70 minutes. Once timer is up, natural release for 20 minutes and then open valve to remove any remaining pressure. Mix contents of pot and mash a few beans with a slotted spoon if a thicker texture is desired. 

Just before the lid goes on.






Done! My wife complained this batch was too hot. So on the second batch I used two poblano peppers and omitted the jalapeno. She liked that much better. Since this was kind of an experiment, next time I could definitely make the doubled recipe in one shot. My IP is 8 QT. But overall, I'm very happy with how they came out. Definitely a time saver considering I soak my beans overnight.






Bonus----I pulled a turkey roast out of the freezer earlier in the week. It was rubbed with Rudy's BBQ rub and all ready to go. I planned on smoking it and using the meat for a leafy salad and then the leftovers for turkey salad sandwiches for my work lunch.  I ended up getting a cold and feeling pretty lousy....so I just wasn't up to being outside and setting up the smoker.  So I tried using the IP for the turkey roast. I must say I was impressed.

This little bird was ready for the smoker.






The cold bug hit and I wasn't feeling up to being outside, especially since it was rainy and damp.  I placed the turkey roast on the trivet and placed in the IP. Poured 1 cup of water in the bottom.

I set the turkey for 25 minutes and then did a natural release of 15 minutes. When I probed the breast, the internal temperature was 145F, so I sealed the pot back up and set the timer for 5 minutes followed by another 15 minute natural release. It was cooked perfectly after that. Temps ranged from 165-170F. After I pulled it out of the IP, I hit it with the blow torch to crisp up some of the skin that was on the outside.  Next time, I'll just set the timer for 30 minutes and go from there. 






Here it is sliced, I forgot to take a picture before I put it in the Tupperware container. Dinner will be cubed turkey breast over leafy greens, dried craisins, blue cheese crumbles, smoked maple pecans and a Dijon vinaigrette. Remaining leftovers will be turkey salad (Turkey, mayo, pickle, black pepper) on a ciabatta roll. 






Thanks for looking,

Joe


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## TNJAKE (Jan 6, 2020)

I'd tear those beans up. Thanks for the recipe. Everything looks delicious


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## chopsaw (Jan 6, 2020)

All looks good , but those beans got my attention .


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## tropics (Jan 6, 2020)

Joe that looks great 
Richie


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## Steve H (Jan 6, 2020)

Nicely done Joe. I'll be doing the beans soon. Thanks for posting up your cook.


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## smokerjim (Jan 6, 2020)

everything looks great Joe. not to big on beans but I might give those a shot!!


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## jcam222 (Jan 6, 2020)

Looks great Joe! You are going to wonder how you ever got by without an Instant Pot!! We use ours a lot , especially in the winter. We it so much we got a second  larger one too. I think it’s 10 quart.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Jan 6, 2020)

Mmmm.  Beans!
You're goin' to be lovin' that Insta Pot the more you use it.


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## Winterrider (Jan 6, 2020)

May have to give this a try. Normally doing beans is kind of a PITA.


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## one eyed jack (Jan 7, 2020)

Thanks for the bean recipe.  I recently got an IP and even bought a bag of dry Pintos to try in it, so this is a timely post for me.

Like!


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## SmokinAl (Jan 7, 2020)

Oh no!
Something else that I just HAVE to have!
Geez when will it end!
The beans & the roast both look fantastic!
Al


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## xray (Jan 7, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> I'd tear those beans up. Thanks for the recipe. Everything looks delicious



Thanks Jake, I tore them up for dinner with some warmed corn tortillas. The wife made some jalapeño cheddar cornbread (Zatarain’s) for the other dinners.



chopsaw said:


> All looks good , but those beans got my attention .





tropics said:


> Joe that looks great
> Richie



Thanks guys, they were pretty good. Have a few days left with them.


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## xray (Jan 7, 2020)

Steve H said:


> Nicely done Joe. I'll be doing the beans soon. Thanks for posting up your cook.



Thanks Steve and No problem! The recipe is loosely based of the one from Serious Eats. Are you making these in the Instant Pot? After they have cooled, they have thickened up quite a bit, more so than I thought. I should have waited before mashing a couple with the spoon.

They’re usually not this thick when I make them on the stove. So it could be the cooking method or I got overzealous mashing them.

Either way, they’re tasty. Wife thinks they’re perfect but she likes the thicker consistency. I may add a spoonful or two of chicken broth when reheating mine.


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## Steve H (Jan 7, 2020)

Hey Joe,
I use the instant pot as well. They work nice for this. When I do my beans and bacon, or ham. I use 2 quarts of stock to 1 pound of beans. And I'll hit it lightly with the boat motor. I do like how yours look. I don't know if you were intending on this being a soup dish instead of a bean dish. As a bean dish. You hit it out of the field.


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## xray (Jan 7, 2020)

smokerjim said:


> everything looks great Joe. not to big on beans but I might give those a shot!!



Thanks Jim! We like to eat bean dishes as a meal. Tightens up the wallet and the waist...especially after the holidays! Lol



jcam222 said:


> Looks great Joe! You are going to wonder how you ever got by without an Instant Pot!! We use ours a lot , especially in the winter. We it so much we got a second  larger one too. I think it’s 10 quart.



Thanks jcam! I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m hoping my wife starts using it because she’s in charge of our crockpot meals.



Winterrider said:


> May have to give this a try. Normally doing beans is kind of a PITA.





one eyed jack said:


> Thanks for the bean recipe.  I recently got an IP and even bought a bag of dry Pintos to try in it, so this is a timely post for me.
> 
> Like!



Thanks guys the IP made it easy since I didn’t soak the beans overnight. The most time consuming step is roasting the vegetables on the grill. That step can be skipped.


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## xray (Jan 7, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> Oh no!
> Something else that I just HAVE to have!
> Geez when will it end!
> The beans & the roast both look fantastic!
> Al



Thanks Al!
It never ends! I have my SV because of you. 

I was surprised how quickly the turkey roast was done. You could also put them in frozen but I had this one thawed with the intention of smoking it.

For the amount of eggs we eat and pickle, the IP is worth it for that alone. I always steamed my eggs for pickling, but tends to get messy!


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## xray (Jan 7, 2020)

Steve H said:


> Hey Joe,
> I use the instant pot as well. They work nice for this. When I do my beans and bacon, or ham. I use 2 quarts of stock to 1 pound of beans. And I'll hit it lightly with the boat motor. I do like how yours look. I don't know if you were intending on this being a soup dish instead of a bean dish. As a bean dish. You hit it out of the field.



I guess I’m somewhere between a bean soup and refried beans. These are thicker and closer to being refried consistency....but I’m just being picky, sorry about that. As long as the warden (wife) approves, I’m happy. We ate these garnished with cilantro and some cotija cheese on top.

Here’s some I did on the stove awhile back. Same recipe. I like them to be this consistency...that way I could dip tortillas and cornbread in them.






But I’ll still use the IP for future bean meals, the ease and convenience is awesome! I’m looking to do red beans and rice as well.

I’m still an Instant Pot Noob,


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## Steve H (Jan 7, 2020)

I'm a noob with the IP as well. The last picture is how my beans and bacon come out.


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