Pinto Beans/Refried Beans Step by Step

Pinto Beans/Refried Beans Step by Step

Friends, I was so surprised when a young lady at church heard me talking about refried beans and asked for my recipe… and then I realized that something that seems so simple to me, is because I am older than dirt, …but I had to learn originally those many years ago. So I am going to go step by step and show you what I learned while living in New Mexico right in the heart of pinto bean country.  My Mother-in-law was a wonderful cook, a simple cook but she taught me so much about making Mexican and Tex-Mex food.  I make home made tortillas, sopapillas, posole, picadillo and a to die for Aqua Fresca de Pepino con limon which tastes so good this time of year…. and many more Mexican dishes thanks to her expertise. 

So let’s start from the beginning.  I store my beans in a air tight container right in their bags. Believe it or not, beans can get old.  I am using about 3 cups of dried beans.

The first thing I do is “Pick” my beans.  What that means is actually sorting the beans.  When Pinto beans are packaged, they are packaged right from the field so there can be small rocks, dirt and debris in the bag.  You can see in the above photo, a small black rock that I picked out…you certainly would not want to bite down on that in your cooked beans. So I lay the beans out on the counter top and I “pick” through them. You might say why aren’t they already cleaned when packaged, but that would mean washing and packing a damp bean and it is more economical for the beans to just go directly into the package… or bag. 

Here, I would like to tell you that I usually buy my beans directly from New Mexico if I can.  They arrive in small burlap bags but are fresh from the fields. I like to buy 10 # bags but they come in 2# and 5# and 25# bags.  Living in New Mexico Pinto beans were an everyday staple.  And yes, I bought them in 25 # bags. LOL….And in answer to your question about cleaning or picking the beans…yes, you still have to do that even though the burlap bags say triple cleaned.  However, today I used a plastic bag of beans from Wal-Mart and I can tell a difference.

Just as an FYI, I also order fresh green and red chile directly from the chile fields in Hatch, New Mexico. They are so much fresher than those in the markets. I always like to point out that chili and chile are two different things.  Chili is a stew, soup or whatever you want to call it and chile are the actual peppers.  In New Mexico, one of the first questions a server in a restaurant (breakfast, lunch or dinner)will ask is red or green?…and they mean chile of course.

After picking through my beans and removing odd looking or bean halves or little rocks, I put the beans in a colander and rinse really well.

Then I put the beans in a dutch oven, covering the beans with about 2-3 inches of water (above the beans) I put the beans on the stove and bring to a boil.  At that point I remove the beans from the heat and cover the dutch oven to allow the beans to “soak” for about 30-45 minutes.  My Mother-in-law told me to always include this step because the beans swell up to almost double in size at this point and any impurities will be included in the water, so I will drain the beans into my colander after they have sat covered for about 30-45 minutes and then add fresh water.

After I have drained the dark water from my beans, I add fresh water.  I like to add a lot of water rather than not enough because when cooking beans, the water can evaporate quickly. I replace the lid and cook the beans at a gentle boil for about an hour. They smell so good and your kitchen is a wonderful place to be.

After an hour, I remove the lid, checking water level, adding more if they have cooked down.  DON’T burn the beans, it is easy to do and I have done it more times than I care to admit. And believe me you have to start all over because burnt beans never recover.

This is the time I add a small onion in chunks, a whole garlic clove, and my meat of choice.  Today I am using ham hocks but you can use Bacon, Salt Pork or left over ham and bone from a baked ham.

Now is decision time for salt. Years ago, I have put the salt In at various times.  I have salted at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of cooking.  These days, I have been salting in the middle of cooking.  You can decide what is best for your liking.

So I  am putting the lid back on my beans and letting them gently boil for another 30 minutes or so.  Then I will add salt and return to a gently rolling boil for about a hour and a half and then I will check for doneness by either tasting the bean or mashing it between my fingers.  If the beans are still a little hard, I will put the lid back on and cook for another 30 minutes.  The time will depend on how “old” the beans are.  The fresher the bean the less time to cook, so keep checking them about every 30 minutes.  Also, your pot with lid on or off will give you a different time.  Your stovetop too.

As I said earlier, keep some water close by in case your water evaporates before your beans are finished cooking.  If your beans are thoroughly cooked but not mushy, you can serve the beans now, adding cornbread which is always good….

Or you can move to the next step of turning your wonderful pinto beans to refried beans.

Using a cast iron skillet, heat either on the stovetop or in the oven.  Add 3 tablespoons of bacon grease (you can use oil but it won’t give the refried beans the great flavor that the bacon grease does, I always save my bacon grease when frying bacon to use for frying potatoes, or seasonings to soups or refried beans)

After the bacon grease has “melted” over medium heat, add chopped onions and stir until translucent.  Using a slotted spoon dip about 2-3 cups of beans into the skillet. You will hear that wonderful sizzle…stir them around a bit. Lower heat just a bit.

To a cup or bowl,  add about 1/2 cup of the liquid from your cooked beans and then add 1 tsp of Knorr Tomato Chicken bouillon, mixing well.  Add to the beans in the skillet.  Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they are the consistency you like.  Let the beans sizzle and cook as you watch the bacon grease around the edges of your skillet slowly dissolve into your beans giving them a wonderful flavor.

I also like to kick it up a bit as the Captain likes all things spicy…so I will add either chopped red or green chilies just before serving….but for most people, these refried beans are delish.  Stir your refried occasionally and serve with Spanish Rice or just slathered on a flour tortilla.  Yummy.

I hope you were not too bored seeing the fundamentals of making Pinto Beans and Refried Beans.  Remember we all were young cooks eager to learn new recipes and methods once.

Blessings and Have a great week.

She is like a ship from a faraway place. She brings home food from everywhere. She wakes up early in the morning, cooks food for her family, and gives the servants their share.  Proverbs 31:14-15 ERV