Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Annie, the nine-year-old budding thespian, has been working very hard on the school play. On Friday, she was part of a showcase. She rehearsed until 4:15 and had to be back at school at 5:15.

“Mommy, you can just take me to Taco Bell, and then take me back to school,” she offered up helpfully.

Now, Taco Bell was one of my favorite pre-gluten free indulgences, but they offer nearly nothing for those of us who can’t eat wheat. It is in their meat, corn tortillas, potatoes, and almost everything else. In addition to that, there was the money I didn’t want to spend on fast food, and the gas I didn’t want to waste driving seven or eight miles out of my way.

“I can make you burritos, if you want Mexican food,” I countered.

“Homemade beans?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Done, terms negotiated, Annie was getting her Mexican food.

I learned how to make refried beans in the slow-cooker a few months ago, and I don’t think I have bought a can of beans since. After fiddling with the recipe a little, I came upon one I really like.

2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and sorted

1 onion peeled and coarsely chopped

3 large celery stalks chopped into thirds or quarters

2 Tablespoons mild chili powder

1 ½ teaspoon each salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ Tablespoon Crisco, lard or bacon fat

Place the first three ingredients into the slow cooker and cover with about an inch and a half of water. Set to high for about four hours. You can cook them on low for eight hours, but I am always too last minute to do this. Resist the urge to season them at this point. If you salt the beans before they are fully cooked they will never fully soften, leaving you with grainy refried beans. Check occasionally to make sure they are still covered. If they look dry add a little water, just enough to cover.

At about four hours, begin checking them. You want them really soft, not kind of soft. At this point you can season the beans. I use a homemade taco seasoning, the seasonings above.

Here is the controversial part. I apologize in advance. Add 1 ½ Tablespoons Crisco. I seldom use Crisco in anything I cook, but it really makes a difference in these beans. If you are not vegan you can use bacon fat or lard. Something about the addition of this kind of fat is what creates those creamy unctuous beans they serve at Mexican restaurants.

If you have a lot of extra water scoop some out, but, this is important, save it.  You don’t want too much water in the beans when you mash them, but if you have to have to add water back in, you want the starchy seasoned water the beans cooked in. So many beans are ruined by the addition of plain water. It kills the flavor.

The ideal way to make creamy wonderful refried beans is with an immersion blender. You can mash them with a potato masher, but you will have a hard time getting them all mashed and creamy. Some people like refried beans with a little texture, so this might work for you.

I try to keep a container of these beans in the fridge all the time. They are great with corn chips, added to a quesadilla, or between two corn tortillas. For those of us with gluten and wheat issues, they are a nice starchy comforting thing to eat when you can’t eat the kind of stuff you are used to.

           

The beans, along with seasoned ground turkey and beef, some chopped tomatoes, sour cream, rice, and homemade guacamole made the Mexican meal Annie was dreaming about. She and Katie had theirs in a giant flour tortilla, I had mine, minus the cheese and sour cream in a bowl. Everyone was happy.