Refried Bean Help

[HRAAB]

I am contemplating cooking up a batch of refried beans tomorrow. I've never made them before. Does anyone have some pointers so they turn out right? I was wondering if I should put my seasonings in with the dry beans (I'm using dry pinto beans) and water when I start to cook them, or do you cook the beans first, mash them and then add seasonings?

 

Also, can you freeze refried beans with the texture remaining the same?

 

Thanks,

Janet

[stripe]

My biggest tip is: don't be stingy on the onions, and cook them well. That adds a lot of good flavor. Undercooked onions are not tasty. Another tip is, if you've never cooked beans before, make sure you have enough water and keep an eye on them so they don't burn!

 

I saw a lady on Martha (it's on the Martha's favorite family dinners DVD) who boils her black beans with onions and garlic and then adds more mashed garlic. So you could do that. But most of the flavor will come from the sauce, so you can postpone safely.

 

I've frozen plain, boiled beans and the texture comes out a bit mushier, but it's fine if you cook them again like making refried beans. I have also frozen beans in various sauces and they come out basically the same. Slightly mushier, maybe, but still fine.

[KS_]

I put the seasonings in with the water and then will taste and add more after they're cooked if they need them. I also freeze them and don't notice much of a difference in texture.

[StaceyinLA]

It's called "Refried beans without the refry." You basically do it all in the crock pot and then just take out however many you want to eat and mash them. The seasoning is all there. I will try and find the recipe online since I am at work.

 

Okay, found it:

 

1 onion, peeled and halved

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I chop a few slices)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

9 cups water (I use slightly less)

 

DIRECTIONS

Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

 

Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

 

 

Now, I don't strain them all and reserve the liquid. I just scoop out what I want to mash then add some liquid to those as needed. I leave the rest in the liquid to refrigerate or freeze. That way I can use the beans for other things if I want to, or mash more later.

 

One other thing I do with these that is delicious is scoop some with the liquid into a pot and add some ro-tel tomatoes, a little more cumin, cilantro, and, if you want to, a little cooked ham or bacon. I let them cook down and thicken some and serve them up like charro beans with tacos or cornbread or whatever. VERY good!!

 

I have been making refrieds for a long time (we LOVE all things Mexican), and these are absolutely the best I've ever done!

[sleepy]

 

Ree has a great recipe for refried beans on her website.

[HRAAB]

[quote name=StaceyinLA;860255

DIRECTIONS

Place the onion' date=' rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

 

 

You don't need to soak them? I checked the PW and she didn't soak them either. This is sounding too easy. Wonder why I didn't do this long before.

I'm going to put on a pot today.

 

Janet

[gardening momma]

You don't need to soak them? I checked the PW and she didn't soak them either. This is sounding too easy. Wonder why I didn't do this long before.

I'm going to put on a pot today.

 

Janet

I read once that soaking them removes the stuff that gives you gas. I don't know how, maybe as they absorb water it comes out? Then straining & rinsing removes it. Except for this last time I cooked beans, I've always soaked them overnight and rinsed them well the next day before cooking. Last time, though, I just soaked them for about an hour and then cooked them and mashed them. Oh dear. Wow. Talk about gas.:ack2:

[joannqn]

My recipe is at eHow.

 

The key to making them taste right...as in tradition refried beans you'd get at a restaurant...is manteca (lard). My beans were always an off color (grey) and taste until a met a Hispanic woman who told me about manteca.

[stripe]

I am not really going for traditional Mexican beans, but I don't eat lard and my refried beans don't come out gray.

 

You can do a quick soak by soaking them in boiling water for about an hour, instead of soaking them in cold water overnight.

[SquirrellyMama]

Here is how i make mine but if you want texture it probably ins't the right recipe for you.

 

I soak my beans and then cook as directed on the back. After they are cooked and soft I mix the beans, cumin, chili powder, mexican diced tomatoes, minced garlic and some water. Put them in a food processor Blend it until smooth. I like the beans smooth. I suppose if you want lumpier texture you can just not blend so much. They won't turn out gray this way. They are a nice reddish brown depending on how much chili powder you add.

 

Kelly

[TKDmom]

Whenever we make a ham (in the crockpot), I like to leave the juices in the pot, add the hambone (after removing all the meat), then I dump in a pound of dry pinto beans and cover them with water. I just let them cook on low over night and they come out with way more flavor than other beans I have made. I haven't made refried beans with them, but they' re really easy to mash up, so it wouldn't be hard to do.

[lllll]

I am contemplating cooking up a batch of refried beans tomorrow. I've never made them before. Does anyone have some pointers so they turn out right? I was wondering if I should put my seasonings in with the dry beans (I'm using dry pinto beans) and water when I start to cook them, or do you cook the beans first, mash them and then add seasonings?

 

Also, can you freeze refried beans with the texture remaining the same?

 

Thanks,

Janet

 

Here's a quick recipe, with explanations. From drmcdougall.com newsletters. We use it quite a bit (w/o the TVP).

 

BASIC MEXICAN BEAN FILLING

This is a basic bean mixture that I use rolled up in a corn tortilla, as a topping for a salad, as a spicy stew base, to top a baked sweet potato, added to Bean Enchiladas, or even as a topping for pizza. Ideas on how to use the filling for all of these follow this basic recipe. This may be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen for later use. This basic filling is easy to make over the weekend for several quick meals during the week.

 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Servings: makes 6 cups

 

1/3 cup water

2 large onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (seeds removed, if desired for less heat)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

4 15 ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

¼ to ½ cup enchilada sauce

 

Place the water and onions in a large pan. Cook, stirring frequently until onions soften slightly. Add garlic and jalapenos, stir and cook until slightly softened. Add chili powder, cumin and coriander. Mix well. Add the beans and tomatoes, stir and continue cooking for about 15 minutes. Slightly mash the mixture with a bean masher while still in the pot. Stir well. Add the enchilada sauce to taste and heat through.

 

Variation: This may also be made with 1 can of beans and 4 cups of the Tofu TVP from the May 2005 newsletter. You can also make this with small red beans or black beans, or use a combination of different beans.

[HRAAB]

Just wanted to say I made the refried beans, and they are delicious. I just dumped everything in my biggest pot, let it cook all day, and today I ran it through my food processor. I don't know why I didn't do this before.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Janet