Educate me on Re fired Beans

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FLATU8ER

FLATU8ER

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Threads
92
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1,391
Location
hanford, ca
I came up with a new BBQ that my family calls Mex Surf & Turf.

I take a Flank steak rubbed in EVO and cover it in taco seasoning with xtra cumin, choped cliantro, crushed garlic. Let sit for 4 to 8 hrs. Next take your shrimp (16 to 20 size) and do the same, but let marinate for 1 to 2 hrs, and add the zest of two limes, put on skewers. Take green onions, or Mex onions (they look like regular green onions, but are starting to bulb) and slice them length wise, cover with EVO and sea salt, and put all on the grill. I like OAK WOOD chips soaked with a mix of H2O and Whiskey. I send the wife to the local restruant to pick up a side order of re fried beans. Serve with Coronas/Victorias and limes.
Sorry got off track, but looking for ways to fix/make refried beans.
Have heard of several different ways with bacon grease. I love bacon.
So what say you fellow Mudd'ers
 
The best way for our palate is to cook heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo Rancho Gordo, Napa CALIF: New World Specialty Food. I haven't met one of their varieties I don't like but really like Good Mother Stallard or Rio Zape beans for refried.

I start with a saute of mirepoix...small dice of onions, celery, carrot and a little garlic in lard or butter...and then cook the beans (NO SALT) just covered in water for about 1.5-2hours. You want just enough water to cover the beans and not so much as to dilute their flavor too much.

Then I get a suitable amount of good quality lard (like anything else but even more so with lard homemade kills anything you can buy commercially) and get it almost to smoking in a cast iron pan. Add the drained beans. Stir, mash and add enough bean cooking liquid to get to the texture you like; the more bean cooking liquid you add the more flavorful the refried beans will be. I season with sea/kosher salt a little toasted ground cumin and from time to time add a little chopped roasted poblano/new mexican green and/or diced deseeded fresh tomato if in season.

For my tastes and when you have good beans the bacon kinda gets in the way...and I'm a bacon lover! I generally prefer salt pork if I'm adding a meat component to my refried beans instead of bacon. But again once you've tasted a fresh dried heirloom bean you'll understand.

Your recipe sounds great...I'll be trying it out for sure!
 
Edit: Spressomon beat me to it, and his beans sound waaaaaay better than mine!

That sounds great!

Traditionally, refried's are just pinto beans that have been soaked and cooked like normal beans, seasoned (usually salt, pepper, garlic and cumin) and fried in a tall saucepan with lard.

My favorite local taqueria uses Great White Northern beans instead of Pintos for some obescure family tradition, and the result is sweeter, and milder.
Personally, my best home-made refrieds have been based on black beans, they just had a nice "beany" flavor.

I've also played around with different oils: canola, Olive, butter, margarine (not by choice in any way), and Lard, and good ol' lard just has the best flavor out of all of them. Butter made them too buttery, kinda like beany popcorn, margarine gave them a really plastic texture, Olive and canola oil beans were almost flavorless, but had a great consistency. 50/50 lard to canola seems to be the middle ground for folks who love flavor, and people who associate lard with "heart attack".

Hope this helps!
 
I'd just serve pinto beans cooked in a crock pot. :meh:

If the beans are good and fresh you really don't need the extra fat and stuff IMO.

My basic bean recipe is onion, carrot, beans and 4 cups of liquid per pound of beans. Dice up the vegetables fine and combine with the sorted beans and liquid in the crock pot, S&P to taste. Set the crock pot on low and go to work, the beans will be done when you get home. Serve with a dash of Tapatío or other hot sauce.
 
OK this is a start, and seems (so far ) that lard is in the lead. ( Que the song "Fat Bottom Girls") I've also heard about not mashing the beans in the same pot that you cook in? Any specific methods?

Forgot to mention, I buy the flank steak in bulk, and then vacume seal each. When one is thawed out getting ready for use, I pound it sorta flat to even out the thickness while it is still in the plastic bag, then trim most to all the fat and silver skin off.
Then start up with the marinade.
-Jim
 
rusty_tlc said:
I'd just serve pinto beans cooked in a crock pot. :meh:.
Click to expand...

The time saver, the way I do them.:cheers:

Depending on batch size I add 1/2 to 1 lb of cubed bacon and garlic salt. Reheated the second or third night, wallah, Frijoles!

Steakwise, we are tri tip fans, just sea salt and ground pepper. Hopefully there is enought left over for red chili the following night.
 
Hey Splitshot,
Sounds good, "Cool Beans"
Looking for step by step directions, like:- when you mash the pintos, do you use an old style potato masher, and at what point do you add the fat (lard, bacon grease, oil, etc), and what percentage of the beans do you mash?
And any other helpful tips?
-Jim
 
No mashing required, the reheat cycle does that.

I use the overnight method:
Enough raw pintos (rinsed) to fill 1/2 of a standard sized crock pot.
Water to the 3/4 level.
1/2 lb chopped Bacon or bacon ends (no need to be picky here).
1 Tbs Lowrys garlic salt. Stir.
Set the cooker at the low 10 hour setting (I usually do this at about 6pm the night before).
The to die for smell will wake you up about midnight, which coincindentally is time to add a little more water. Stir
Go back to sleep.
Once it's time to go to work, add more Lowrys, stir, shut down and let rest till you get home. Good meaty beans the first night. Pan heat from there on.

I guess you could mash at the home from work stage,:hhmm: We like our pintos in stages.
 
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splitshot said:
No mashing required, the reheat cycle does that.

I use the overnight method:
Enough raw pintos (rinsed) to fill 1/2 of a standard sized crock pot.
Water to the 3/4 level.
1/2 lb chopped Bacon or bacon ends (no need to be picky here).
1 Tbs Lowrys garlic salt. Stir.
Set the cooker at the low 10 hour setting (I usually do this at about 6pm the night before).
The to die for smell will wake you up about midnight, which coincindentally is time to add a little more water. Stir
Go back to sleep.
Once it's time to go to work, add more Lowrys, stir, shut down and let rest till you get home. Good meaty beans the first night. Pan heat from there on.

I guess you could mash at the home from work stage,:hhmm: We like our pintos in stages.
Click to expand...
Ours rarely last to the re-fried mushy stage. :lol:
 
OK, talked to afew co-workers, and boil the beans (pinto, black, heiloom, etc.) and while boiling add pork fat (bacon, etc.), spices. Once done, remove the desired amount of beans, place in a skillet, mash, and re-fry. Was told to fry up some chorizo in the skillet frist and then proceed with the re-fiied beans. Also heat up some lard (manteca) to very hot and add after you have squased the beans, and mix, stir and incorparate. Also was told to add pork (bacon chunks, fat, etc.) and garlic and onions to the boil, and use the cooked left overs (some not all) to the mash, and re-fry.
Was told that after the boil that a good amount would last all week if portioned right?
Comments? Am I on the right track?
-Jim
 
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smash them with one of these add left over bacon grease stir in some cheese of your choice salt and pepper good to go...
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AGomez, thanks, you sound like you've done this before. Any other helpful hints?
What are your thoughts on the type of fat to add. Manteca, bacon juice, and I've beem told olive oil?
Also, what do you think of the method of adding chorizo?
-Jim
 
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