Frijoles Refritos

Frijoles (Pintos) Refritos or as we better know them, Refried Beans are a fairly common part of the Mexican diet. Refried Beans is actually a misnomer, refritos actually means well-fried and not twice-fried.

Beans are a huge part of the Mexican diet and date back to precolonial days where the natives ate beans with corn tortillas as a huge staple in their diets. beans are rich in iron and protein and acted as a meat substitute for people in areas where suitable meat was unavailable. Everyone has a different method for cooking their beans and I spent a lot of time perfecting the way I cook my beans. Here is my recipe:

What you'll need:


Step 1: Sort through 2 cups of dried pinto beans to eliminate bad beans, you can buy bags of them at Wal-mart or you can buy them at grocery or bulk stores. Rinse the beans in cold water with a strainer and set in a bowl with about an inch of water covering the beans. Leave overnight or for a few hours.

Step 2: Rinse beans again. Now put beans in a large pot with 8 cups of water, bring water to a boil.

Step 3: Reduce heat to medium. Now add your onion, how much you add is up to you but I added one half of the onion pictured above, peeled and cut into large chunks. Let these simmer for another 40 minutes or so. I also added a large, dried Pasilla chile (can be bought at the Scoop-and-Save) for an extra bit of spicy flavor, can be substituted with fresh chiles, and as many as you wish depending on personal tastes.

Step 4: Next I like to add 1/4 or 1/2 a teaspoon of dried oregano, you can also add a tsp. of salt now but I usually wait until the beans are cooked thoroughly because adding salt too early can make beans tough. Cover and cook for about an hour and a half or until beans are quite soft.
Optional: Some people often times, fry the beans in lard or with bacon drippings to add flavor. A vegetarian option would be to fry with olive or canola oil. I don't like cooking with lard or bacon but I wanted to enjoy some added flavor so I added a cup and a half of organic chicken broth to the water. This can easily be substituted for beef broth or bouillon.

Step 5: In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of lard, bacon drippings, butter, canola oil, or whatever you wish on medium-high heat, I chose canola oil. When the oil is hot, slowly add the beans and some of the leftover juice from the pot and begin mashing the beans with a potato masher, fork or even the flat side of a wooden spoon. The beans should have a smooth consistency with a few scattered whole beans, not too soupy.

This is my favourite way of making refried beans but there are many other ways. Be creative!