On 2/24/2016 8:44 AM, Osmium wrote:
> "jmcquown" wrote:
>
>> IMHO, refried beans are any sort of over-cooked mashed beans that
>> don't have any taste. Bland, boring, paste. Ever tried beans that
>> aren't smashed into some sort of wall-paper paste? What a novel
>> concept. YW.
>
> No way, they can be delicious. I don't remember the recipe but the key
> ingredient is bacon fat. .

I guess I've just never had good refried beans. I don't buy canned
refried beans. <shudder> I don't tend to eat at Tex-Mex restaurants
either. You may very well be correct. I'll just skip the refried beans.

As for the OP's question, there are tons of recipes for refried beans
online. Most of them call for something other than animal fat. Who the
hell uses olive oil to make refried beans? Oh, the "chefs" on the Food
Network! <doh!> They'll use olive oil in just about anything.

The key ingredients seem to be pinto beans, fat, cumin and ground chili
powder (which could be just about anything). Even if the beans are only
partially smashed, the texture of refried beans is, to me, is still like
eating bean pablum. YMMV.

Jill