Perfect Pintos

Family in town, husband wants meat fajitas.  I'm not in the mood for meat tonight... so... it's bean time!!!

Here's my perfect Pintos:

4 c stock (I had a bag of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, veggie stock appropriate too)
2.5 c water
1 lb dried pintos, rinsed and picked over- no need to pre-soak
4 cloves garlic
1 spicy pepper, whole/seeds removed (this will be removed after cooking)- I used an anaheim from my garden
2 big sprigs of cilantro (also from my garden- I plucked off the soon-to-be seeding stalks- they were perfect for this)
2 stems of oregano (fresh from garden, can sub extra dried if you like)
1 t dried oregano
1 t smoked paprika
1 t salt (more or less to taste depending on stock used)- even better if it's smoked!
2 t cumin
2 t onion powder
dash of chili powder (not sure this even really did anything)
1 T liquid smoke (more if omitting the ham hock)
1 bay leaf

Optional: 1 smoked ham hock (I had one on hand so I threw it in).  I like picking the tiny bit of meat out of the hock and mixing it in when I'm done cooking.

Dump everything in the pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 2-3 hours more, until beans are soft.  Be sure to watch for the need for additional water! I started mine around 11:30 in the morning, and they were perfect around 3.

Could also be done in the crockpot, but without boiling first I would recommend cooking it much, much longer, or soaking overnight, or doing a quick soak before putting into the pot.  How much water you need gets wonky, though, so don't leave it unattended!