Frijoles De La Olla - "Pot" Beans - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb dried beans (black, pink, or pinto)
10 -12 cups cold water (approximately)
1/4 medium onion, roughly sliced
2 tablespoons pork fat (I use bacon drippings)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
2 large sprigs epazote (if using black beans)

Preparation

Rinse the beans in cold water and make sure there are no small stones or dirt clumps. Put them in a pot and cover with cold water. Add the onion and lard and bring to a boil, then lower the flame and let the beans simmer, covered, unti they are just soft and the skins are breaking open - about 2 hours for black beans and 1 1/2 for other varieties. (The timing depends of the age of the beans, how long they have been stored, and on the efficiency of the pot in which you are cooking them.) Add the salt and continue cooking over a low flame for another hour, until the beans are completely soft and the broth thickish and soupy.
For black beans, add the epazote just before the end of the cooking time, as it tends to lose flavor if cooked for too long.