The short version
Charro beans (frijoles charros) are pinto beans simmered with pork, tomato, onion, chile, and cilantro. Named for the charros — Mexican horsemen — this is a Northern Mexican pot-bean tradition, not Boston baked beans in a Western hat.
Charro, not casserole
American “cowboy beans” on a barbecue menu sometimes means sweet baked beans with ground beef. Charro beans stay brothy, savory, and chile-forward. Bacon or other pork builds the base; jalapeño and tomato keep it bright; cumin and cilantro finish the bowl.
In Texas and the borderlands, the Mexican version and the barbecue-pit version share a table and sometimes a name. The ingredients tell you which one you’re eating.
Legend vs ledger: The channel video doesn’t do a deep origin monologue — that’s fine. The dish doesn’t need a single inventor. It’s ranch and working-kitchen food that spread because a pot of beans feeds a crew.
How we cook them
Dried pintos, a long simmer, bacon, Roma tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic, onion, cilantro, cumin. Low and slow until the beans are creamy and the broth tastes like you meant it.