Refried beans

[JustJoel]

Beautiful food! (That isn’t usually said about Mexican cuisine, lol.) That pic of hue oz rancheros makes me want to have some right now!

 

[Cheryl J]

I had huevos rancheros for breakfast this morning....yum!

 

[JustJoel]

Thanks to all of your suggestions and advice, my refritos came out nearly perfectly! I cooked the beans (black) with onion and garlic until they were very soft (perhaps a little too long). Then I “refried” them with more onion and garlic, and added some dried cumin, chili powder, sage, and oregano. Salt goes without saying. I also added just a dash of Louisiana hot sauce at the end to make it interesting. Thank you to all!

 

[rodentraiser]

I do refried beans in the slow cooker. One pound of pinto beans, five cups of chicken broth (or water), add onions, garlic, a teaspoon or so of lard or bacon grease, a half teaspoon of liquid smoke, a couple tablespoons of salt (or to taste), some garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, oregano, and finally before I take it out of the crock pot, some parsley. And any other seasoning your heart desires.

Turn the pot on high for about 6 to 7 hours, stir occasionally, then transfer to a large bowl and beat them until they're mashed.

They'll be a little runny, but after being refrigerated, they'll thicken up.

 

[JustJoel]

I do refried beans in the slow cooker. One pound of pinto beans, five cups of chicken broth (or water), add onions, garlic, a teaspoon or so of lard or bacon grease, a half teaspoon of liquid smoke, a couple tablespoons of salt (or to taste), some garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, oregano, and finally before I take it out of the crock pot, some parsley. And any other seasoning your heart desires.

Turn the pot on high for about 6 to 7 hours, stir occasionally, then transfer to a large bowl and beat them until they're mashed.

They'll be a little runny, but after being refrigerated, they'll thicken up.

I did mine in a Dutch oven, covered, in a 250° oven for about the same amount of time, with roughly the same result. Just garlic, onions, and salt, and when I “refried” them, I added the other spices and veggies. I simply don’t have room for a slow cooker; I think mine’s in a box in the garage.

 

[CharlieD]

Joel, if you're still interested, here's a few more ways to incorporate refried beans into a tasty dish. Maybe there are some ideas here that you and Mark may like.

It's so easy to change up the bean texture, seasonings and ingredients to your liking.

Smothered burrito

Huevos Rancheros

Good ol' nachos

Are these dishes you've made? Do you have recipes, please? I am particularly interested in Smothered Burrito. Is it served hot? My DW doesn't eat cold food.
Thank you.

 

[RPCookin]

Are these dishes you've made? Do you have recipes, please? I am particularly interested in Smothered Burrito. Is it served hot? My DW doesn't eat cold food.
Thank you.

Smothered burritos are an easy Mexican comfort food for me. They are one of those things that you can make simple or more complex just depending on needs and mood. I will often just sauté some ground beef with onion and garlic, seasoned with cumin, oregano, salt, ancho chili powder. Then add canned black beans, green chiles, maybe some chopped fresh jalapeños, cook for a few minutes to blend flavors. Warm some flour tortillas (I just give them a brief zap in microwave in a plastic bag so that they don't dry out), then place a generous couple of tablespoons of meat mixture with a handful of shredded cheese in the middle of the tortilla and fold it up (you can Google "How to fold a burrito"). Smother with a generous scoop of green chile sauce (I keep a couple of cans of Stoke's Green Chile in the pantry but any brand will do - it's not hard to make your own green chile sauce if you have a supply of Hatch or Anaheim chiles), and top with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, and shredded cheese. You can add sour cream on top as well if you want, but not necessary.

You can change up ingredients and quantities to your taste or dietary needs (I know that you keep Kosher). I haven't listed quantities because I don't really measure. I don't always make them the same way. I may use pinto beans or even chili beans in place of the black beans. I may make them spicier with red pepper flakes or just by not cleaning the core from the jalapeños before chopping them. You can use shredded chicken or shredded beef instead of ground beef.

You can make breakfast burritos using chorizo sausage in place of the beef (I've even made them with spicy Italian sausage, and Jimmy Dean's breakfast sausage). Then just scramble eggs with a can of chopped green chiles. They are a great "on the go" breakfast - when not smothered they can easily be eaten by hand. Wrapped in foil they will stay warm for a half hour or so.

 

[CharlieD]

Thank you. Saved. And will have to try soon

 

[Cheryl J]

Are these dishes you've made? Do you have recipes, please? I am particularly interested in Smothered Burrito. Is it served hot? My DW doesn't eat cold food.
Thank you.

Hi Charlie - yes, I made those dishes.

For the smothered burrito, I recreate it from the ones they make at my favorite tiny little family run Mexican restaurant in town. I think there are 5 tables in that restaurant. Their smothered burritos are the best I've ever had.

The filling I usually use is chopped carne asada, (I make a bunch of it at a time, portion, and vacuum seal for the freezer so I almost always have it on hand), refried beans (usually just canned), white rice, chopped Spanish onions, and cilantro. Very simple ingredients. I prefer no cheese in burritos, but you can add some if you wish. I added some avocado to the one in the picture, probably because I had one that needed using.

I warm the flour tortillas by putting them in the microwave between 2 damp paper towels. I warm the meat, refried beans, and rice separately - I once tried mixing them all together, but the final product just wasn't as good, IMO. It was just kind of gloppy and the ingredients became indistinguishable.

Layer the ingredients in the warmed tortilla, being careful not to overdo. Sprinkle on some chopped onions and cilantro (if you like it), then roll it up, smother it with some Salsa Verde (I like Herdez brand), put toppings on it if you wish, and enjoy! Sometimes I use toppings, sometimes not.

As RP mentioned, you can make smothered burritos a number of ways, and use more or less what you like. They are very forgiving as far as the kind of meat and beans you use. I didn't post the amounts either because I eyeball it, but the beans and rice are dominant.

Also, YES to RP's mention of breakfast burritos. Those are fantastic, I haven't made them in a while but will in the near future. They would also be good topped with salsa verde.

 

[CharlieD]

CJ, thank you. So the green stuff, that's Salsa Verde?

 

[Cheryl J]

CJ, thank you. So the green stuff, that's Salsa Verde?

You're welcome, Charlie. Yes, that would be the Salsa Verde. I always get Herdez, but there are several other brands in the supermarkets.
https://www.herdeztraditions.com/products/traditional-salsa/herdez-salsa-verde/

 

[Traveler]

I recall reading that the 're' in refried, is a Spanish term mean "well" . As in well refried.

Believe it or not the absolute best refried beans I ever had was on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The Mexican cook would not share the recipe with me but I do know he made his own using pintos enteros. (whole beans he soaked overnight). Also, I sneaked a peek once and I know he fried his beans in bacon fat.

 

[Addie]

I recall reading that the 're' in refried, is a Spanish term mean "well" . As in well refried.

Believe it or not the absolute best refried beans I ever had was on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The Mexican cook would not share the recipe with me but I do know he made his own using pintos enteros. (whole beans he soaked overnight). Also, I sneaked a peek once and I know he fried his beans in bacon fat.

As my mother was fond of saying, our family is known as Proper Bostonions and when we make "Boston Baked Beans" we always soak the beans overnight.

All dried beans should be soaked overnight. Pea, Pinto, Kidney, etc.
Growing up, every Saturday night my kids had Boston Baked Beans with a large piece of salt pork, and right after supper on Friday night, the beans went into the large bowl to soak. I never had a failure for Saturday night
supper.

By the way, our silly folks we elected to make sensible laws, one day when they were bored, made a law that said "Boston Baked Beans could not be called Boston Baked Beans unless they were actually baked in Boston. That must have been just before they all were done for the year.

 

[taxlady]

I thought a burrito was a little burro.










runs and hides

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I thought a burrito was a little burro.










runs and hides

Yes, and they fit nicely in a tortilla!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I, too, despise refried beans. I've always said "If you can't fry them right the first time, don't bother!"

But when it is absolutely neccesary to have frijoles refritos, I make my own, and I don't make them so mushy that they look like Ken-L-Ration.

Refried Beans

Ingredients:

1½ cups dry pinto beans
4 Tbs bacon fat
½ cup onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Soak the beans, covered in water, for 8 hours or overnight then drain and rinse the soaked beans. Cover them with fresh water by about 3 inches, bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 3 hours, adding more water if necessary, until the beans are tender. Drain the beans, reserving the bean broth.

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and jalapeño in the bacon fat until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for about 45 seconds more.

Add the beans and some of the bean broth. Add the cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once beans are heated through, mash them with a potato masher or an immersion blender to the desired consistency.

Place the refried beans in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro and scallions.

If you have friends that say "don't put cilantro on mine, It tastes like soap!", then substitue epazote instead. It doesn't taste like soap, it tastes like kerosine!

 

[CraigC]

I like stuff cooked in bacon fat, but for re-fried beans, it has to be Manteca or leaf lard.

 

[Addie]

I thought a burrito was a little burro.










runs and hides

And so you should! Thanks for the laugh. I really needed it today.

 

[larry_stewart]

I thought a burrito was a little burro.

You mean it's not ??????

I've been brought up on lies, I tell ya!!!