Refried beans
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Soak the beans overnight or quick soak by bringing to a boil and then turning off the heat and letting them sit for an hour.
  2. Drain soaked beans and then place back in the pot. Cover beans with fresh water to cover them two inches.
  3. Throw half an onion in the pot and add a couple of dashes of salt. Can also add 1/4 pound of salt pork (if you do this there’s no need for extra salt.)
  4. Bring beans to a boil, cover and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
  5. The time it will take to cook the beans will depend on the freshness of the beans and the hardness of your water. If they’re not completely cooked after an hour, let them simmer a while longer until they’re done.
  6. Remove salt pork and onion and then drain the beans, keeping 1/2 cup of the bean broth.
  7. Chop the slices of bacon and fry them in a skillet on medium until crispy and all the fat is rendered.
  8. Remove cooked pieces (you can either nibble on them while you’re cooking or save them for something else).
  9. Fry the diced onion in the bacon grease for a couple of minutes, and then add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
  10. Add the drained cooked beans into the skillet, adding 1/4 cup of the bean broth.
  11. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding more bean broth for desired moisture.
  12. Keep stirring the mashed beans in the bacon fat until the texture is a chunky paste.
Recipe Notes

Notes: You can substitute 1/4 cup of lard for the bacon grease. Or you can use 1/4 cup of peanut oil. If you don’t want to cook a pot of beans, two 16 oz. cans of cooked pintos can be used instead. You can also use black beans, just be sure and throw some epazote in the pot when cooking them. This recipe makes 4-6 servings.