Previously I shared my process for making a pot of Mexican beans, today we are going to turn those beans into frijoles refritos. (In case you missed the recipe please read it here.)
First we begin with what the words frijoles refritos actually translate to: The English translation is refried beans, but that is not correct because the beans aren’t actually re-fried or fried twice. (How many of you were wondering why beans would need to be fried twice? Haha!) Let’s break it down frijoles means beans and refritos means well-fried. In English the prefix “re” is used to express an action done twice, in Mexican-Spanish we commonly use it for emphasis. So frijoles refritos actually means very well-fried beans.
Spanish lesson aside just know that you won’t have to fry your beans twice. But please don’t ask me how or who invented frijoles refritos — I don’t know, all I know is that homemade refried beans will rock your world.
Canned vs. Home Cooked
The first thing you need to know about making refried beans is that starting with freshly homemade beans is THE way to go. I know many people like to use canned beans, but if you want the Mexican taste skip the can and reach for the pot. Think of all the money you’ll save too, dried beans are cheaper than canned. My biggest prejudice against canned beans is the tin taste they impart on the dish. You can drain and rinse canned beans but I find that taste lingers regardless. So before we proceed make sure you have boiled some beans.
The Fat
The second thing we will discuss is the fat used to do the frying. The traditional fat, and the one that gives Mexican refried beans its unique taste, is manteca de cerdo or pig lard. This is something to be aware of when you’re eating out, as the more traditional Mexican restaurants will use lard. I think it is important to ask so that you know if it is lard or perhaps oil that they use in making their beans.
Even when I used to eat meat I always preferred not to cook with or eat lard and have always instead used preferred to use vegetable oils or butter when called for.
Side story for you: I once received hate mail from a self described “small town American woman with some knowledge of Mexican food” basically calling me a fake Mexican because I don’t use lard in any of my cooking. Since she obviously knows more about being Mexican than I do, next time I won’t forget to carry a packet of lard along with my sombrero, tequila bottle, leaf blower, and burrito, as I’m running and yelling “arriba, arriba!!”.
Anywho!
When I make refried beans my preferred fat or oil is olive oil. Yes, I know this is not a traditional Mexican ingredient but it is what I use in my kitchen because of health reasons. You may of course use any other oil you desire. No judgment here. The additional benefit of choosing an oil over lard is that this, of course, makes the dish vegan friendly.
Under NO circumstances would I suggest using butter or margarine to make refried beans. I once had the misfortune of tasting the results of that (awful) combination. Ah, the things you’ll eat just to be a good friend. Stick to oil!
Give Those Beans Extra Flavor!
Just as I mentioned in my recipe for making frijoles de olla, here too additional flavourings can vary greatly from one cook to another. You can fry the beans along with some onion, garlic and/or chiles of your liking. Spices like ground cumin, black pepper, or chopped tomato, or even chorizo can be used for an extra boost of flavour! If you cook them with chorizo you can use the oil for frying the beans. If you have boiled the beans in just water and a bit of salt, I would highly suggest adding some extra flavourings to your refried beans. Experiment until you find the combination your family loves. I personally like to leave in the onion, garlic and epazote that were used to boil the beans, but I always remove the Serrano pepper and instead use a couple/few dried chiles when I’m making refried beans. Again it is all up to your tastebuds.
Texture
I happen to like a bit of texture in my frijoles refritos, some like theirs smoother. My advice is to mash until you like the texture. Another aspect to the texture is the thinness or thickness of the beans. I’ve noticed that here in Playa restaurants tend to serve their refritos a bit more runny than I’m accustomed to, they still taste delicious though. I think the consistency should be made according to what the beans will be used for. For example, if you’ll be using the refried beans as a side maybe leave them with a thicker constancy; if they will be used to spread over a tostada or bread roll, then I would suggest a medium consistency to make spreading easier. Again, this is just simple advice so feel free to cook until you like the consistency.
If you over-cook or the beans begin drying out then add some of the boiling broth or a little bit of water to bring back to the consistency you want. If the beans are too watery just cook down to thicken up.
- one batch of homemade pinto beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil of choice
- 2-3 dried chiles de arbol or dried/fresh chile of choice, optional
- pinch of sea salt if necessary
- After cooking the pinto beans, drain but reserve about half a cup of the broth. If you'd like you can remove the onion, garlic, epazote and Serrano used to boil the beans, I like to keep the epazote, onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, once it's hot add the dried or fresh chiles and cook just until they brown or begin to blister -- this happens quickly so be ready to proceed. Next add the drained beans -- be careful because it will splash, allow to fry for about 3 minutes. Next add about ¼ cup of the water and then begin mashing the beans until you achieve the desired texture. The broth will help with the mashing and you'll need to add a little bit of the broth to help you achieve the texture you desire. Continue to "fry" for about 5-8 minutes or until they have the consistency you want. Remember to adjust the consistency to your needs by cooking longer to thicken or adding more broth/water to thin out. Taste and add salt if needed. Use as desired.
•veggie chorizo can be added for extra flavour if desired. First cook the chorizo through, in the same pan and without discarding the oil cook the onion (if using) and beans.
•Spices such as ground black pepper, ground cumin, achiote, oregano may also be used. Add them as you're mashing the beans.
Congratulations, you’ve now made refried beans like a Mexican! Now you are ready to serve them alongside some tacos or enchiladas, on tostadas or tortas or you can blend leftover refried or boiled beans to make sauce for enfrijoladas. However you choose to eat your refried beans, I hope you enjoy them. Buen provecho!
Delicious! Refried beans are so comforting and tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!
Once again great article,I think you’ve explained the process of bean frying very well, I like the dact that you pretty much leave it to the cook to choose their consistancy and flavours and not just stick with on particular way of doing it. I thinks every recipy should give you some play room I always have a hard time following a recipy to a t ,so this is great. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with all of us..
P.S PLEASE ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SOMBRERO SO WEKNOW YOU’RE A TRUE MEXICAN :-!!!!!!! 🙂 love you
Oh, for sure I don’t ever leave home with out mi sombrero! Lol!:) Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed the articles and recipe. I think cooking is a very personal thing and making the processes and results our own is one of the best things about being in the kitchen. Love you!
I am excited for homemade beans 😀
Hehe, we are the same!:)
I like to add a little bacon to my refried beans and all the bacon drippings. Not so much bacon as to over power the taste but enough to let one know that it is there. I cut the bacon into very small pieces and it adds some texture to final product. I agree that making beans from scratch is the only way to go.
That sounds fantastic! I haven’t tried it but would love to, thanks for sharing.
G’day and YUM Nancy! I could go for some of these right now!
Looks delicious and love authentic refried beans!
Cheers! Joanne
Hi Joanne! Thanks and hope you can give them a try!:)
I like my frijolitos with a spicy kick. I fry chopped fresh jalapeños with my frijoles. For a milder spice, mi mami uses banana peppers. Both are delicious with chips and queso fresco. Provecho!
Hola Carmen,
I love your spicy frijoles and yes banana peppers with them taste fantastic. Gracias y provecho a ti tambien.
Yum! I love love love refried beans. And, yes, I use lard to cook them. Gives such a special flavor. Does that make me more Mexican than you? Maybe we should ask your small time lady reader? ;=) Actually, I did read somewhere that lard is not as bad for you as people say, but to each his own. Who could say no to olive oil? Not me, of course!
Haha, for sure Frank you are more Mexican than me.:) We love using olive oil for it’s anti-inflammatory properties otherwise I think lard would be a once in a while ingredient in my kitchen. Gracias amigo!
Yes to lard(occasionally). GREG
I agree, Greg!
LOL!
Ariba ariba hehe, the story made me laugh, love the recipe, I adore bean dishes. YUM!
Thanks Julie:)
Absolutely delicious! Beans are one of my favorite dishes and yours looks so good!
Thank you Asmita!
One of my son’s favorite ways to eat beans is refried. He would do a back flip for these. 🙂
Hehe, maybe his mom can treat him sometime;) Thanks Ramona!
Love this post Nancy! Here in New Mexico you get frijoles refritos made thick and thin and most always with lard. I do always eat them when they come on the plate because I love them. However, at home, I’d rather not use lard so thanks for all of the great information on how to make these at home, but more healthy! Gotta love those people who write and tell you you’re doing something wrong. 🙂 I always find it rather amusing because it’s like there is one and only one way to make a dish! NOT!
We are the same MJ! Lol, I don’t let those kind of emails get to me.:)
I love that the recipe doesn’t involve lard – so simple to make refried beans, yum!!!!!
Thank you Rika, it’s vegan so perfect for you.:)
As much as I love Mexican food, I’ve never made refried beans. Your recipe looks so simple and delicious! I’m drooling now for Mexican food. Great post, Nancy!
Thank you Bill, I hope you give them a try sometime.:)
“Side story for you: I once received hate mail from a self described “small town American woman with some knowledge of Mexican food” basically calling me a fake Mexican because I don’t use lard in any of my cooking. Since she obviously knows more about being Mexican than I do, next time I won’t forget to carry a packet of lard along with my sombrero, tequila bottle, leaf blower and burrito as I’m running and yelling “arriba, arriba!!”. ”
LOL OMG, girl. People be CRAZY. I have ZERO problem with people sharing their traditions and their version of something but not in a dogmatic, unyielding manner. Different strokes for different folks, right? 🙂 Thanks for sharing the story; I needed a good laugh. 🙂
So true Liz! Thanks and glad it gave you a laugh too.;)
Your comments about Lard hit a nerve. I grew up in the Southwest amidst some of the most delicious Mexican food one could ever consume. Later I traveled and worked around the world always anxious about where my next Mexican meal would be found, and that was almost always when I traveled back to the southwest. When posted back to California for a large company, my wife and me traveled to Mexico City to visit good friends. I was utterly surprised at the different flavors there, delicious, but so different from the Sonoran Cuisine I was used to. I’ve grown used to all the different flavors from all the regions of Mexico and with it the love of variations in cooking to bring out every imaginative flavor possible. Thank you, your website is incredibly creative.
One thing I learned from living with my mother. “Mexican” is about as different from family to family as Maine and Calofornia. I have come to realize that it is more of a family to family thing. And I started using lard again. I don’t think it is as bad as people say. I was trying to be healthy and use olive oil but some things just don’t work; like tortillas. So I am not afraid of a little lard in the recipe. I learned how to make bread from my mother in law and it uses way more crisco AND oil than the little lard I put on tortillas or use for frying.
You are absolutely correct, Nancy! Even with my own family there exists many variations on recipes.
A little lard doesn’t hurt anything! 🙂 Thank you!
I like that you at least talk about the lard. Any other oil doesn’t taste right to me. Crisco shortening comes close but the lard makes the beans right. And if you add chorizo, that’s still the lard in it so my advice is get over your squeamishness and put your trust in the lard. The lard works in mysterious ways.
“The lard works in mysterious ways.” Lol! Thanks Lance for your comment. Definitely lard adds something that no other oil or shortening adds and you’re right about the chorizo too. For me it isn’t so much that I’m squeamish, but more that I don’t care for the smell of lard. I know many people won’t touch lard at all but like I said, I don’t turn down food that is cooked in it — specially when I can’t smell the lard. Haha 🙂 Keep enjoying your frijoles!
Would have been a lot easier if you included how to actually cook the beans lol
Wait i’m so sorry i just saw it LOL great recipe DOING THIS TONIGHT
I love pintos, but I always use black beans for Mexican cooking.
Hi John!
In Mexico every region has a preferred bean for making this. I grew up eating pintos but where I live now, in the Yucatan Penninsula, black beans are more popular. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, beans are all yummy. Thanks 🙂