Name: Tremendous Refried Beans
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 slices bacon, chopped; 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 1/2 tsp chili powder; 2 cans (15 oz each) canned pinto beans, with their liquid; 1/2 cup, plus more as needed low-sodium chicken broth or water; 1/2 tsp, plus more to taste kosher salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp lime juice, fresh; 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (for serving); 1/4 cup, optional cotija or queso fresco, crumbled (for serving)

Tremendous Refried Beans

Prep

Cook

25m

Total

30m

Bigly says

Refried beans. Refried BEANS. The most underrated dish on the entire Mexican table — and the table is LONG, the table is huge, the table is the best table in the world of tables — and people skip over the beans like they don't matter. Like they're nothing. Like they're a side. They are NOT a side. They are a foundation. They are the BEDROCK. Without beans, the entire plate falls apart. The rice is alone. The enchilada is lonely. The chip has nothing to drag through. Tragic. Total tragic situation.

Now most so-called refried beans you get out there? Pasty. Gluey. Beige cement. They scoop it out of a can with a single sad ice-cream-scoop motion and plop it on a plate. That is not food. That is plaster. And meanwhile the other recipe sites — and I'm sharing this with you for free, no email, no 'subscribe for 10% off,' no banner asking you to allow notifications which is a question NOBODY should be asked, the answer is always no — they won't teach you the real thing, they're too busy running popups. I have all the time. I am made of time.

The key is FAT and HEAT. My grandmother taught me this — she was a tough woman, she could break a wooden spoon in half if you mashed the beans wrong, I've seen it personally — real refried beans are cooked in fat until they sizzle and crisp at the edges of the pan. They get smashed. They get smashed again. They get loose, then thick, then loose again. They turn from sad pinto beans into a creamy, smoky, deeply seasoned spread that you would eat from the pan with a tortilla and tell nobody. Tremendous. Believe me.

Ingredients

3 slicesbacon, chopped(lard is even better if you've got it, but bacon is the gateway)
1/2yellow onion, finely diced
3 clovesgarlic, minced
1 tspground cumin
1/2 tspsmoked paprika
1/2 tspchili powder
2 cans (15 oz each)canned pinto beans, with their liquid(do NOT drain them, the liquid is the whole game)
1/2 cup, plus more as neededlow-sodium chicken broth or water
1/2 tsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
1/4 tspblack pepper
1 tsplime juice, fresh
2 tbspfresh cilantro, chopped (for serving)
1/4 cup, optionalcotija or queso fresco, crumbled (for serving)

Steps

1
Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is just crisp. Do not drain — the fat is the whole point.
2
Add the diced onion to the bacon and fat. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring, until softened and translucent.
3
Stir in the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and chili powder. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant — do not let the garlic burn.
4
Add the pinto beans AND all their canning liquid to the skillet. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
5
Once simmering, use a potato masher or the back of a sturdy wooden spoon to smash the beans directly in the pan. Mash to your preferred texture — chunky-rustic or smooth-spreadable, your call.
6
Stir in the broth (or water), salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the beans thicken and pull away from the sides of the pan when stirred. Add more broth a splash at a time if they get too dry — they should be creamy, not pasty.
7
Off heat, stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust salt.
8
Transfer to a serving dish. Top with chopped cilantro and crumbled cotija if using. Serve hot.

One more thing

Look. Refried beans are the quiet hero. They don't ask for attention. They don't need a marketing campaign. They just sit on the plate doing tremendous work — holding up the rice, hugging the enchilada, waiting for a tortilla to come scoop them up. Treat them right and they will treat you right back. Leftovers reheat beautifully with a splash of water. Spread them on toast tomorrow morning with an egg on top and tell me I'm wrong. You can't. Nobody can. That's the recipe.