Homemade Refried Beans

Put the dried beans, onion, bell pepper, garlic and salt in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover everything by about an inch. Bring the beans to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about two hours or until the beans are soft. Check periodically; if the water gets lower than the top of the beans, add more.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large cast-iron skillet or another large, heavy skillet. Remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve it for another use. (Or, if your home is like ours, put it on the counter and watch it disappear. Or, crumble it up and sprinkle it on top of the beans when they’re done cooking.) Keep the bacon fat in the skillet.

When the beans are soft, drain them in a colander set over a large bowl to reserve the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the onion and bell pepper. 

Add the vegetable oil to the skillet with the bacon fat, and heat to medium. Add the drained beans, then add the cooking liquid, about ½ cup at a time. Cook the beans on medium heat, mashing and stirring them with a wooden spoon continuously until the beans soak up the liquid, then adding more liquid. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you mash and stir. 

When the liquid has been absorbed, continue cooking until the beans are thick, about 8 minutes, continually stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Mash any whole beans that are left with a potato masher or the back of a fork. (If you want super-smooth refried beans, you can puree them with an immersion blender.) Season with salt to taste. Beans can be frozen in airtight containers. When you reheat, you may need to stir in a little water to moisten them back up.

If you’d like, top the beans with crumbled cotija cheese, crumbled bacon, and/or chopped cilantro.