Mexican Charro Beans

Rinse dried beans in a colander. Place beans in a large pot and cover with water. Make sure the water level is at least 2 inches above the beans. Soak beans overnight.

In the morning, rinse the beans again. Pick out any shriveled beans or rocks. Rinse out the pot the beans were soaked in. Put beans back in the pot and add 5 cups of fresh warm water. Adding cold water may cause the beans to split.

Set the pot of beans over medium heat. Add chopped bacon, minced garlic, and cumin. Stir. Place ham hock into pot. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

While beans are cooking, prepare pico de gallo. In a large bowl, mix together chopped tomatoes, diced jalapeno, diced onion, and chopped cilantro. Juice lime over mixture. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be done the day before.)

After the beans have been simmering 1 hour, check them. The beans should be soft. If not, continue to cook the beans, checking every 15 minutes until desired softness has been reached. Add entire bowl of pico de gallo and 2 teaspoons of salt. Stir and cook an additional 30 minutes. Taste beans with a chip. If desired, add more salt.

Serve beans warm with chips. Beans can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Beans can also be frozen in a freezer Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.