Make Delish Refried Beans
Life is hard; food doesn't have to be #123 [vol6, 1.2]
A friend asked how I made refried beans for Wednesday night supper. Here’s how in bare bones style. Keep reading for making them even better. What’s cooking in my kitchen at the very end.
Rinse and soak pinto beans overnight.
If you’re in a hurry, rinse and soak in warmer water for 6 hours. In winter, I have put them on the stovetop and turned the heat on every hour or so to keep the water warm to encourage faster germination.
They can soak up to 24 or longer. If soaking longer than say, 12 hours, be sure to change the water - especially in warmer months. If you start to soak and life changes your plans, simply change the water and put them in the fridge for a couple days.
Flavor and cover beans with at least 2 inches of water. Use or pour out the soaking water. I’ve done both though I lean towards refreshing the water.
Add 1 teaspoon of cumin, garlic (fresh or 1t powdered) and 1T sea salt* per pound of beans. If you have smoked paprika or chili powder, add 1t of that too. You could add a half an onion. (*Here’s a deep dive on salting beans.)
Cook. These times are based on soaked beans. Dry, unsoaked beans simply take more cooking time.
InstantPot Method: 6 minutes high pressure. Quick release works. Natural release is better, or a combination of the two. If I know I will quick release them I cook for 7 minutes high pressure.
Stovetop Method: bring to a rolling boil then reduce to a simmer and simmer 45 minutes. You may need to add more water to the pot, depending on evaporation based on how much you remove the lid.
CrockPot method: 4-6 hours on high, 7-9 hours on low
Drain the water. Reserve some if you’re nervous but generally a bit (half inch?) of water in the bottom of the pan is enough.
Add fat. This is crucial for smooth, great tasting refried beans. About 1/4-1/2 cup fat per pound of dried beans.
Fat options: a stick of butter, bacon grease, or the fat skimmed off the top of taco meat. Traditionally the fat is lard (which I’m using a lot of in my kitchen these days. Highly recommended finding some from a farmer.)
Blend or mash. I have a stick blender / immersion blender that makes the task super easy. Best results to mash while beans are hot or warm. You could pour this into a regular blender - be careful if the beans are still hot. You could mash by hand with a potato masher. I suppose you could use a mixer like with mashed potatoes but I’ve never tried it. If they seem too thick while blending, add more fat or some of the reserved cooking water.
Taste and adjust. Crucial. Probably will need more salt. Maybe more spices, just depends on your preferences. Please don’t skimp on salt.
Add More Flavor
Use a ham bone while cooking, ham hock, or a couple pieces of bacon.
I reserve adding meat to beans for when cooking beans as the main dish - or if I have a surplus of meaty bones.
Saute an onion and garlic with spices in bacon grease before adding soaked bean and water.
Add a hot pepper to the cooking water. I keep it whole for easy removal after cooking. I especially like to use habaneros, cayennes or jalapeños. You’re not eating this pepper; it simply brings flavor and I promise it is not too hot!!
Taste and adjust after cooking. Crucial. Please don’t skimp on salt.
Here’s an Instagram reel for how Ali Stafford makes black beans in a slow cooker. Here’s the blog post with even more links and details. She’s the best.
FAQ
How to tell the beans are done?
Bite into a couple. If they’re soft they’re done.
Get a spoonful and blow on them. If the skin peels back while you blow they are done.
Why cook beans when they’re so cheap in a can?
Know exactly what’s in them.
Flavor/salt them as I want.
Reduces waste - most cans aren’t recycled. Think of the energy use to get beans from a factory into a can, on a truck to the store, someone puts them on a shelf then stored in a cabinet at home.
Time & Space - opening cans can be a pain if using multiple. Storing dried beans doesn’t take much space and they last forever dried.
Is buying organic important for beans?
YES!!
Like oats, conventional beans and legumes are often sprayed with glyphosate right before harvest, causing residues to make it into food products. Glyphosate has been reported in pinto beans and in chickpea products such as hummus.
EWG tests found glyphosate in 60 percent of conventional bean and lentil samples and more than 80 percent of conventional hummus and chickpea samples. source
Does soaking beans make a difference in flatulence?
For some, yes. Some members of my family tolerate beans better when I soak them, while others still cannot over indulge (that seems funny; over indulging with beans!?!)
The act of soaking beans jumpstarts the germination process which in turn makes them more nutritious. Canned beans are pressure cooked from dried, bypassing germination.
Eating more beans actually reduces gas?
Some individuals may experience gas associated with bean intake, regularly consuming beans (~1/2 cup daily) for a period of 8 weeks may reduce bothersome symptoms like bloating and abdominal discomfort.
What’s the bottom line? The more often you eat beans, the less often you’ll experience GI discomfort! source
Tips for Reducing Flatulence Further
Eat beans with fermented foods, which introduces enzymes that help with digestion. Enzyme tablets are available over the counter as well. When pregnant, I ate papaya enzyme instead of Tums like candy. Found at health food stores or Amazon.
Increase bean intake slowly. Start by eating 2 to 4 tablespoons of beans per day, and gradually increase consumption to the ½ cup per day recommendation.
Drink more water as you eat more beans.
When soaking dry beans before cooking, change the water several times. The gas-producing fibers are released into the soaking water, and discarding it removes some of these compounds.
Rinse canned beans before eating or using in recipes.
From my college son:
He made pad thai this week with fresh scallions, cilantro and lemons from GCU’s campus community garden. Here are 25 other meal ideas I gave him.
Deepest apologies for driving everyone crazy for ambiguous instructions. It’s how I operate in the kitchen. Yesterday I used a dozen egg whites in baked oatmeal when the recipe calls for 6 eggs (I’ve used as few as 3).
Another example…
I made these enchiladas and didn’t have tomato sauce. But I had tomato paste and thinned with silky rich homemade beef broth. The dish was even better!
We take liver encapsulated in supplements and recently I’ve been finding ways to hide liver powder in heavily flavored meals like Mexican, Indian, and chili. Above is from Perfect Supplements; one scoop is undetectable in a pound of meat.
The green sticker was a God wink. It was given to me last year at our homeschool co-op as a reminder to pray for a family of 7 whose dad/breadwinner was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The sticker had been affixed to a scarf I’ve worn several times this winter but only yesterday saw it when delivering a meal to the same family. Ryan passed away before Thanksgiving.
Life is hard; food doesn’t have to be,
Julie
