I made some refried beans a few weeks ago that everyone loved - except me. The recipe used bacon grease instead of lard and it tasted good but not authentic.
I went to the bean section of the recipe section of The Pit and there were no refried bean recipes. A search on the free side did not offer a recipe either. Anyone have a good, (and authentic), recipe?
Homemade refried beans recipe with step-by-step instructions. Easier to make than you might think. Plus, they are far superior in flavor and texture to canned refried beans.
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mnavarre - I’d imagine he has a great recipe for this. He has been great with recipes like this. See if he has anything he can provide.j
this is one thing I haven’t truly cooked - even with my grandparent’s restaurant years ago, its one side dish my grandmother and I haven’t talked about making. I’ll also see what she says about refried beans. But…is with most Mexican/New Mexican food, lard makes a huge difference in flavor.
They are pretty simple. The key is tasting them as you are frying them and adjusting ad hoc. Here is my basic procedure:
Clean then soak pinto (or black) beans overnight. Drain then boil in lightly salted water (about a tsp of salt) 30 - 60 minutes until beans are done - they should be soft/creamy when you taste test them. Drain, reserving the juice. You can mash the beans with a potato masher or use a food process to coarsely puree them, but don't over do it. (I like to keep a half cup of beans that are not mashed to add into the refried beans at the end so they are chunky, but that is a personal preference.)
Heat up lard (1/4-1/3 cup) in a large skillet then caramelize one chopped onion. Should be golden brown. Then add several cloves of minced garlic.
Add the beans about one cupful at a time and fry them briefly before adding the next cup. Add some of the reserve liquid as you go to get the right consistency. Taste as you go and add salt to taste. For me, I'm pretty liberal with the salt. I also add a little cumin if I've doing pintos, although I don't think this is traditional. This should take about 15 minutes total.
For black beans, I like the consistency to be thick, meaning if I scoop it up with an ice cream scoop and put it on a plate, it retains the round shape. I make pintos a slightly thinner so they will slowly flatten.
This is my go to recipe. Instead of the bacon fat specifically I tend to just use normal pork fat that I render from trimmings (I tend to only make refried beans when I am making Chili Verde with pork).
Ingredients
1 lb pinto beans
1 white or yellow onion
1 guajillo chili pepper (or Ancho, stem and seeds removed)
1 large garlic clove crushed only
1/4 cup bacon fat
Instructions
-Cover beans with 2 inches of water in a stock pot. Add a quarter onion (save remaining for other use), dried chili and crushed garlic.
-Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
-Remove and discard the onion, chili and garlic. You should have about 5 cups of cooked beans.
-Heat a large skillet over high heat and add fat
-Drain beans, reserving about a cup of the bean water. Add the beans to the skillet. Fry for several minutes, stirring.
-Mash with the back of a spoon or potato masher. Add enough bean broth and continue mashing until your desired consistency. If you want a more smooth consistency you can blend it in a food processor.
-Season with some salt and black pepper if needed. Serve with crumbled Cotija or Queso Fresco cheese on top.
AdequateEatin pretty much covered it, make a good pot of beans, mash 'em up with fat until they're your desired texture, and cook to your desired consistency.
Here's my basic Frijoles de la Olla.
1 lb. Pinto or Peruano beans, rinsed and picked through
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup, i guess)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 qt. chicken or veggie broth, plus water to cover the beans by at least an inch
1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano
2 bay leaves OR 1 avocado leaf
1 totally optional sprig epazote
about 1/3 cup hog fat, divided.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of fat (the rest is for making the refritos) in a dutch oven over med-low heat, sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or so.
Add the beans and liquid, bring heat to a hard boil for 10 minutes, then turn down to a simmer, add the oregano, leaves, epazote, and a big pinch of salt, coverand simmer until the beans are done.
Add water as needed while cooking to keep the beans. Season to taste at the end.
Cool beans, Daddy-O. So let's talk fat. I usually use bacon grease, because that's the hog fat I always have on hand, but if I'm at the Supermercado and they have rendered lard, i'm grabbing a quart of that. What you don't want is the pure white brick from the gringo store, that stuff's great for biscuits and pie crust, but has no flavor. The stuff I'm talking about looks like bacon grease, but has more of a roast pork flavor. If you're making beans for vegetarians vegetable oil or shortening work fine, just leave out the chicken broth.
As for authentic? There's probably more "authentic" refried beans recipes than there are Mexicans. Beans, fat, fry, smash, yum. And I will almost guarantee you that your favorite Mexican restaurant just makes a big pot of pintos, blitzes 'em with an immersion blender, and calls it done.
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