Refried Beans

A few weeks back, I wrote a bit about refried beans or frijoles refritos in the context of learning about frijoles peruanos. In that post, I made them in a blender, which is not my preferred means of making refried beans. I like more texture in the beans that the blender gives, though to achieve texture in refried beans with a blender, you can blend part of the beans and leave some whole.

Black Beans Becoming Refried Beans

Although here in the States, most refried beans are made from pinto beans, and even though I have a 25-pound sack of pintos in the pantry, I prefer black beans for refritos. And where a lot of refried beans are just a bland purée of beans, I like to add flavorings to mine.

To make this batch of beans, I first sautéed a finely diced poblano, a finely diced onion, a finely minced bunch of cilantro stems, and four large cloves of garlic, finely minced. No matter how soft the beans get, the onions and poblanos help give the beans texture. Then I added four pounds of beans and a couple cups of liquid, followed by a puréed chipotle en adobe 

You can see my antique, hand-carved maple bean masher in the photo. I used this to break up the beans to a slightly, but not much, smoother texture than you see in the photo. They cooked down for about fifteen minutes in total after mashing.

Garnishes for Refried Beans

For much of the world, refried beans are a side dish, but I like them as a main course on tacos. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to make a salsa cruda, so I merely put the salsa ingredients on a plate and let everyone serve themselves: tomatoes, green onions, cotija cheese, and cilantro, all the colors of the Mexican flag.

Tacos de Frijoles Negros

This batch was especially good and I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner. Refried black beans tick all my boxes for a great dinner: super tasty as well as quick and easy to prep, cook, and clean up.