Dinner Tonight: Refried Beans Your Way
I just had a revelation last night about something most of you may have already known. Sometimes one little thing can completely change the way you make something as classic as refried beans—and that one thing for me was pork fat. Accept no substitutes (unless, of course, you are a vegetarian). That fat can be freshly rendered lard, bacon grease, or sautéed salt pork—but pork it must be. It rounds out this dish giving it meaty flavor without requiring much meat to do so.
This is sort of a mishmash of a few recipes I found in Saveur, Cooks Illustrated, and Chowhound. They all had little quirks, but the essential process is the same. Cook pinto beans in pork fat. Some added water, while others used chicken stock. Some started with canned beans, other mandated starting with dried. I actually had the foresight to cook my own dried beans this time, but the canned kind will definitely work, too. Basically what I learned is that it’s a personal preference, and additional ingredients can be added as needed. The below recipe mentioned is how I garnish a big bowl of refried beans.
About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is a co-founder of The Paupered Chef, a blog dedicated to saving time and money while enjoying food in every way possible. He sells wine for a living and lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Refried Beans Your Way
- serves 2-3 -
Ingredients
1 pound cooked pinto beans, drained
2 tablespoons lard
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
Salt
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)
Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Lime juice (optional)
Procedure
1. Add the lard to a large iron skillet over medium heat. When it has melted toss in the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until very fragrant.
2. Dump in the beans along with the water. Let it cook for a few minutes, and then begin the mashing process. You can use a potato masher or even a large wood spoon. Mash to the desired consistency (I like mine a little lumpy).
3. Season with salt, and any or none of the following: cilantro, jalapeno, or lime juice.
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4 Comments:
It's more than personal preference. Due to my religion I can't partake of the swine and I found that if I asked "do your beans have any pork or lard" in the Austin TX area, people looked at me like I shot their Aunt. Apparently down there it's some kind of insult to put anything in your beans but beans, water and salt.
seadkdc at 6:08PM on 06/13/08
I can certainly imagine how the Austinites looked at you after that question! LOL!! Being from TX and having lived in Austin for a decade, I know how it is. Certainly, Tex-Mex would include the pork fat or lard. I don't think there is much in Mexican cooking that doesn't have pork added to it. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration... I only know about Tex-Mex. I love it and deeply miss it here in VA. At least now I can try this new way of trying to cook the refired beans. Thank you, I can never get them to come out right. Someone told me that I was probably getting"old beans" because no matter how long they cooked they were always crunchy. Tex-Mex is one of the foods that I prefer to eat out because usually the restaurant knows better than I do how to do it. Others include anything deep fried and ethnic foods in general. I only know how to appreciate these culinary wonders.
nrwfos at 1:45AM on 06/14/08
I keep kosher-ish, so I would never actually go out and buy lard/bacon to make these. but if I go to a restaurant and have beans I just close my eyes and pretend that the lard doesn't exist... if you can't see it, it doesn't count, right?
sivang at 10:46AM on 06/14/08
I cook on a yacht, and let me tell you, sometimes it is not so easy to find the right ingredients when you are out to sea. Recently I was asked to do a TexMex kind of meal. I made flank steak along with a number of other items, but for the beans I had everything except the pork fat. I usually do my beans with some kind of pork fat, be it bacon drippings or lard, etc. But I had zero, the owners are not big pork fans and don't even eat bacon (if that is possible!) I did have plenty of duck fat. Lord, people were lining up for the beans. A good fat gives the beans that silkiness of texture that I feel is important even with a chunky profile, and man these beans were out of this world. I will always go back to pork when available, but this was a terrific alternative and kosher for sure.
BelleOCosity at 11:29PM on 06/17/08