One of my planned meals is frozen burritos. These appeal to me because you can take out and heat as many as you need, plus I just really love burritos. But one of my criteria for the meals I planned was that they should use as many things that I already have as possible - no going out and buying a can or two of refried beans when I had a bag of pintos waiting in the cupboard! So I made a big ole' batch of refried beans from scratch. It was easier than I expected, though it took a long time.
Refried Beans
1 lb. dried pinto, pink, or kidney beans plus soaking water
6 cups water
2 onions, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup hot bacon drippings, margarine, or lard
Salt to taste
Soak beans overnight or by quick method. Add water and onions. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer slowly until beans are tender, about 3 hours. Mash beans with potato masher.
Add fat and salt. Mix well; continue cooking, stirring frequently until beans are thickened and fat is absorbed. Serve at once or refrigerate for later use.
This is the first time I've made real refried beans. I've made a quick facsimile using bean powder, but never actually cooked the beans, mashed them, and "refried" them. I was pleased that they turned out so good - thick and flavorful. They also thickened up quite a bit in the fridge. These pictures were taken after chilling overnight - I made the beans last night when there was no good lighting. But don't they look good now?
Stay tuned for the next post in my freezer meal adventure - I've got to assemble and freeze the burritos!
I am so impressed. I was pretty sure that one could make refried beans from scratch, but I've never known someone who knew how to do it :-) Do they taste the same or better than those you can buy in a can? This is such a good recipe because it really helps with using the food storage that I (should) have. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe flavor is different, particularly because I used margarine instead of lard (which is more traditional). But I like to say that different doesn't mean better or worse, just different. I like it canned and I like it this way too! :-)
ReplyDeleteHave you been reading my mind? I as looking for a refried bean recipe! This looks good!
ReplyDeleteomgosh I just got done making some refried beans myself, I did mine in the crockpot. I soaked my beans overnight with water covering them in the crockpot. In the morn I drained the beans and recovered with about an inch or so of water. You can add onion, spices, bacon etc.. cook on low for 8 or 9 hours or until beans are soft. I think I used about 4 C pinto beans. Makes ALOT to freeze. I want to can some. ALso make some chili out of some of them. Good for freezing. Please visit my blog to see the beans in the crockpot recipe I posted it awhile ago. Its a good basic recipe, no reason to heat up the house in the summer :) LOVE your blog, Carmen
ReplyDeletethen of course to make them refried you would have to squish them a lil with some of the juice and fry em :)I dont do them on the stove anymore.