Gregs Pinto Beans Refried Beans Recipes

QUICK AND EASY REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
• Cook garlic cloves in hot oil, turning once, until brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Smash garlic cloves in skillet with a fork.
• Stir pinto beans, cumin, chili powder, and salt into mashed garlic and cook until beans are thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• Smash bean mixture with a potato masher to desired texture. Squeeze lime juice over smashed beans and stir until combined.

REFRIED BEANS (BETTER THAN STORE-BOUGHT)

Steps:

• There is no need to soak the beans for this recipe. Rinse the dried beans then add to a large pot. Add the onion half, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs. Cover with at least 3 inches of water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the beans are extremely tender (almost silky inside), 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If during cooking the beans look dry, add a splash more water.
• Remove the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs, and then discard them. Season the beans and liquid with salt. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there based on your tastes.
• Drain the beans, but do not discard the cooking liquid. We will use some of the liquid for making the refried beans. You will need about 3 cups of the beans to make refried beans. If you have more than 3 cups, reserve the rest for another recipe.
• There is no need to soak the beans for this recipe. Rinse the dried beans then add to a 6-quart pressure cooker (we have an Instant Pot). Add the onion half, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs. Add about 6 cups of water, but do not fill past the 'max fill line.' Add 1 teaspoon of neutral oil like vegetable or olive oil (this prevents the beans from foaming).
• Seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes, and then allow the cooker to naturally release (you can tell when it is safe to open the cooker when the steam release valve drops). We recommend you read the user manual of your specific pressure cooker before using this method.
• Remove the onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and cilantro sprigs, and then discard them. Season the beans and liquid with salt. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there based on your tastes.
• Drain the beans, but do not discard the cooking liquid. We will use some of the liquid for making the refried beans. You will need about 3 cups of the beans to make refried beans. If you have more than 3 cups, reserve the rest for another recipe.
• In a large, skillet - a cast iron pan is perfect here - heat the oil (or butter/lard/bacon drippings) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it smells sweet and is starting to brown around the edges, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in the minced garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the 3 cups of cooked beans, moving them around the pan for a minute or two so that they are heated through. Add 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid and then use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to mash the beans into your desired consistency.
• If, as you are mashing, the beans seem a little dry, add a splash more liquid. The beans do dry out over time, so it's a good idea to keep the cooking liquid near by to maintain the best consistency, especially if you are making them in advance.
• Taste the beans and adjust with additional salt, pepper or spices. Serve with a squeeze of lime and your favorite toppings scattered on top.
• Use 2 (15-ounce) cans of pinto or black beans. Two cans will be approximately 2 3/4 cups of beans, which is close enough to 3 cups for this recipe.
• Open the cans, drain, and then rinse the beans. Follow the recipe instructions in the section labeled 'Make Refried Beans' above, but replace the 3 cups of home-cooked beans for canned beans. Instead of using the bean cooking liquid for thinning the refried beans, you will need to substitute for another liquid. We recommend using a flavorful stock (vegetable stock or chicken stock), you will need 1 to 1 1/2 cups.

GREG'S PINTO BEANS - REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Mash and cook chorizo in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
• Drain half of the liquid out of the cans of beans (or leave undrained, but it will take longer cooking to thicken). Add partially drained beans to the browned chorizo; stir well. Stir in 3 small fresh chile peppers (whole).
• Bring beans to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Stirring occasionally, let beans continue to cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until liquid begins to thicken. When beans begin to thicken, mash beans in the pot with a potato masher, leaving some beans whole.
• Reduce heat to medium; continue to cook and stir occasionally, until beans have thickened to your preferred consistency, about 5 minutes longer.
• When done, remove the chili peppers. Stir in a dash of garlic powder and a splash of corn oil, if desired. Stir in cubed cheese and remove from heat.
• Serve warm, with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

SHORTCUT REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Grind pinto beans until fine using a food grinder. Place in a saucepan, and whisk in salt, cumin, chili powder, and warm water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until thick, about 15 minutes.
• When the mixture has thickened, stir and cook for 4 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salsa. Serve as a dip, or use as filling for burritos.

REFRIED PINTO BEANS

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the beans, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook, skimming occasionally, approximately 1 1/2 hours. To test for doneness, taste 3 or 4 of the smaller beans. They should be cooked through and creamy inside. Mash, along with the liquid in the pot, with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon until creamy.
• Heat the lard or other fat in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Saute the onions with the salt and pepper until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the mashed beans and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the beans form a mass that pulls away from the sides and bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Refried beans can be kept in the refrigerator 3 or 4 days and reheated in a covered casserole in a 350 degree oven.

REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon butter (or oil) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until melted. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked and fragrant.
• Add in the pinto beans, veggie stock, chipotle chili powder, cumin and oregano, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer.
• Remove pan from heat. Use a potato masher or a wooden spoon to mash the beans to your desired consistency. (Or if you would like them to be super-smooth, you can purée them in a food processor until smooth.).
• Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter until it is melted and well-combined. Taste and season the beans with lime juice, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve warm, topped with any garnishes you might like.
• optional garnishes: finely-chopped fresh cilantro, crumbled or shredded cheese, diced tomato, and/or sliced jalapeño.

EASY 1-POT REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• CANNED: If starting with canned beans, simply open cans and set aside. As the original recipe is written, about 2 15-oz (425-g) cans will yield 3 cups cooked beans.
• FROM SCRATCH: If cooking pinto beans from scratch, we recommend this recipe, which yields 5 cups cooked beans. We recommend reducing the serving size to six 1/2-cup servings (rather than 10 servings), which would yield 3 cups cooked beans. The spices and diced tomatoes with green chilies are optional.
• INSTANT POT: If cooking pinto beans in an Instant Pot, we recommend following this recipe but swapping the black beans for pinto beans. Be sure to save any leftover cooking liquid.
• REFRIED BEANS: To prepare refried beans, heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add oil (or water) and onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender - about 4-5 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn down heat if browning too quickly.
• Next add your cooked beans and any of the cooking liquid. Depending on your cooking method, your beans may be looking somewhat dry or they may be submerged in cooking liquid. Because we're going to simmer the beans even more, you want them to be just submerged, so add only as much vegetable broth as needed to just cover the beans.
• Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Then add your salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes to further cook and tenderize the beans. If they begin looking dry or stick to the bottom of the pan at any point, add more vegetable broth to moisten.
• Your beans should now be tender. Our preferred way of mashing is with an immersion blender. If using an immersion blender, tip the pot to one side so the blade can be submerged and blend until the beans are creamy and smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, a bean or potato masher will also work. It just takes more work and they won't get quite as creamy.
• If you're blending or mashing and your beans have become too thick, thin with more vegetable broth as needed.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt to taste. We didn't find the beans needed more than this. However, you could add chili powder or chipotle pepper in adobo for some heat, or some ground cumin for smokiness.
• Serve as is, or garnish with desired toppings (lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, red onion, or this vegan Mexican-style queso would be delicious).
• Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, warm in a pot or saucepan, adding more broth as needed.