*Also, I feel like apologizing for how totally NOT tech savvy I am with this blog. I have no idea what format and layout I'm supposed to use. I can't "code". Plus, I use my phone to write these posts anyways. All good intentions I swear! Haha*
Ok! Today I share a great triumph. Gold medal Olympian worthy accomplishment... I have mastered the art of Refried Beans!
I, the whitest of white girls, by a complete and total accident, made beans that tasted better then ANY restaurant I've been to. (that's not really saying much, I'm from Salem, OR hahaha) Guys, I could cry. No more canned beans that you reheat in the microwave and pray it doesn't taste like metal. Legit, from scratch, takes like 3-4hrs to make but totally worth it beans!!! I've made it! We're in the big leagues now!!
Wanna know how I made it???
Grocery List:
3 Cups Pinto Beans (raw, uncooked)
2 Cups Onion (sweet yellow/large dice)
1 jalapeño (large dice)
2 Tbsp Garlic (minced)
1/3 Cup Bacon Fat (you heard me)
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp granulated onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
*If you're wanting to keep this vegetarian/vegan, you can use veggie oil for this. It's fried beans after all so it needs some kind of fat/oil to help the "frying" process. Also, if you're a total whimp when it comes to spice, take out the jalapeño and cayenne. No judgement here.*
Y'all ready for this? A quick rundown of how you can make these bad boys. The first step is to soak the beans.
Raw beans have a hard exterior and you wanna soften that outside a bit. Also, if you've never seen a raw pinto bean, it has a bunch of black flecks on it. You wanna get rid of that as much as you can. Soaking helps! You can do this overnight. Just put your beans in a pot of water and set aside overnight. But if you're very forgetful and last minute like me... here's the quicker method! Grab a big pot with a lid or Dutch oven (contains even heat really nicely, worth the investment, your friends will be totally jelly) and pour your beans into it with about two knuckles of water covering it.
You'll notice the beans float, so just push them down to the bottom so you can see how much water you have. Pop it onto the stove, high heat, until it starts boiling. When that happens, kill the heat and put a lid on it for 1 hour. This softens the beans and pulls some of the dark flecks off of it. I think it's dirt? Maybe? Idk, it tastes bitter if you don't pre soak that off so just trust me on this. Haha
Like Moses parting the seas! Or like the Orcs surrounding the Fellowship in LOTR Return of the King. Haha
Ew. Rinse and drain that immediately. Dice your onion and jalapeño. Doesn't really matter what size since it'll be blended later. You can also use fresh garlic for this, but the container of the minced stuff I get from Costco reminds me that some shortcuts in life are worth taking. Add your rinsed beans and veg to the pot with your spices as well.
*Ok, the salt and pepper. I said "to taste", but if you're totally freaking out and not confident in your taste buds/cooking abilities to rely on that, I used 1 tsp of fresh ground black pepper and 2 tsp of kosher salt. I added 1 tsp of salt to begin with and 1 more tsp after everything was blended at the end. It changes every time I make them. Some beans really soak up the flavor and other beans I have to play with.*
Cover with water about 2in above the beans and bring on the heat! I put my stove burner at a 7/10 just to get the water boiling faster. I popped it down to a 5 when the bubbles started happening. Now, you can put a lid on it or leave it open to air. It reduces down faster if you don't have a lid. Steam is able to escape because it's not trapped by the lid creating condensation. Blah blah blah...
*The liquid! I've seen people use milk to boil the beans in (yep, you heard right!), I've seen chicken stock used to help cheat the amount of flavor you get. I like using water because I can control the flavor a little more. Stock has a distinct taste and could overpower your dish.*
This is after 2 hours of simmering. You can see the line where the water level was at initially. You can also see the black flecks on the beans are gone! You can take a bean out to see how tender it is. Smash it with the back of your spatula. See how much resistance you get. I stirred every 15min just to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom. Depending on how "loose" you like your beans, you'll wanna make sure you have enough liquid to work with when blending. I like it thicker. So that means less watery-ness.
*If your beans are reducing down too fast, you can totally add more water during cooking to help it not stick to the bottom. If your beans are tender and ready to be blended, but you have too much liquid, you can get a ladle and take some of the liquid out before blending.*
You can get a regular blender and pour some of the beans in at a time. But, it's really hot liquid flying around, so I like to use an immersion blender. Great for really hot things that you need to blend. And you don't have to do it in batches either. It all stays in the same pot it's cooked in. Less dishes. Happy Rachel. Haha
Blended! Sorta kinda loose still, but thick enough to coat my spatula. Now for the fat! Ah, bacon fat. How I love thee.
Sweet mother of God, Rachel, do you have a giant mason jar of lard just sitting in your fridge? Why yes, I do. And so should you. I like to take it out and smell it. Like a Christmas ham. Ahhhh...
Ok. Back to where we were. This is what makes your beans "Refried". The reason it's "re" fried is because you already cooked and blended the beans. This step elevates it to the HNL. (Hole Nother Level) Pop it back on the stove on medium heat (6/10) and watch it bubble away. Every minute or so stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom. You're waiting on color preference and consistency here. I let mine cook down for another 15min.
Looks kind of weird, not gonna lie. Haha
I made this for the first time in April and it keeps getting better every time I make it. I feel that way about every dish I make. You learn something new each time you get in the kitchen and cook something. Whether it's flavor or time management. Constant growth. Super cool!
Until next time,
R.
Twitter/Instagram:
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