You will never buy canned again once you taste this delicious, refried beans recipe that is simple to prepare and loaded with flavor.
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 2 hourshours
Ingredients
1pounddried pinto beans
Water
½peeled yellow onion
6garlic cloves
1tablespoondry epazote
1tablespoonground cumin
1/3cuprendered bacon fat
1seedless serrano pepper
1peeled and small diced yellow onion
1cupOaxaca or Mexican melting cheese
cotija or queso fresco for garnish
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Pick through the beans for any unwanted particles and give them a rinse under cold water.
Transfer the beans to a large pot and cover them in water by about 3 to 4 inches. Add the ½ yellow onion, garlic cloves, epazote, and cumin, and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat to low and cook for 90 minutes or until the beans easily squish when pinching them with your fingers.
In a large frying pan or rondeau add in the rendered bacon fat over medium heat until melted and fry a seedless serrano pepper just until lightly browned and then remove it, this takes about 2 minutes total.
Next, add in the small, diced onions and cook over low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and tender while occasionally stirring.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the beans from the liquid and add it to the pan with onions and turn the heat to medium high and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
Mash the beans until smooth and add in additional liquid that the beans were being cooked in so that it keeps a good consistency. There will be about a cup or two of liquid leftover.
Season with salt and pepper and add the peppers back along with the melting cheese and mix until combined.
Serve with cheese and cilantro.
Notes
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 day ahead of time, just reheat before serving.How to Store: Store the refried beans covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. You can freeze them covered for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of refried beans to a saucepot with a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock and heat over low heat while stirring until warm.Feel free to expand the flavors of this by adding spicy peppers, dry spices, herbs, or cheese.When adding the beans also add in the garlic, onion, and herbs cooked along with it when simmering.You can keep the beans a little bit chunky when mashing.If you do not want to cook the beans from scratch, use drained canned beans and proceed straight to 4th procedure.You can find epazote commonly at your local Latin market.