Cookaholics Bulletin Board

We did this twice now, the first time for a pulled pork burrito night, and a second batch today from leftover beans.

• 2 cups dried black beans (pick out any stones)
• Soak overnight (minimum of 4 hours) - Drain
• Pressure Cook for 12 to 15 minutes - add 3 cups of water per cup of beans, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder - oil helps control foaming and baking powder helps keep the dark color.
• Drain from pressure cooker
• 4 tablespoons BACON grease (other oil if you don't have, but bacon grease is the best choice) in a chef's pan or skillet
• 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon of garlic granules)
• Saute garlic for 1 minute -
• Add beans to skillet
• Add 1/2 tsp Cumin
• Add 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock (low sodium if possible - or 1/2 cup of water with 1 Knorr Chicken Cube)
• Bring to boil and stir/mash beans with back of spoon
• Do not let cook dry - remove from heat - continue mashing
• Add juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon or 5 to 6 calamansi
• Salt to taste - If canned chicken stock or Knorr Chicken Cube was used, be sure to taste before adding salt
• Optional - Hit them with a stick blender if you want a smoother texture for your dip or refried beans.

Our first batch was okay, I switched to bacon grease on the second batch and it noticeably improved the flavor. I do realize that many here won't do the Knorr Chicken Cubes, but if pressed for time and limited availability of chicken stock, it's a better choice than plain water. I heated the water and dissolved the Knorr cube prior to adding to the beans.

Lard is a traditional fat in refried beans, and bacon fat is smoked lard, so there you go.

Cool! We use lard in our flour tortillas. We have a tortilla press due to arrive anytime now. I'm pretty sure these will show up on our dinner table a couple times a month.

We made the first batch of refried BB's with chicken stock. I didn't have any chicken stock available for the second batch of refrito frijoles and the wife wanted to use the Knorr cubes, a stand-by in the Philippines along with the local Magic Sarap. I did the Knorr, forgoing salt in the second batch and along with the bacon, noticed a better depth of flavor.

Black beans are one of my favorite legumes, and the ones I use most in Mexican cooking. I don't know if you have the choices there, but my favorite black beans are the almost round, glossy ones I find in Mexican groceries, rather than the more elongated, satin sheen variety, that is the one most commonly found in supermarkets.

One thing that really adds to the flavor of Mexican beans, and especially black beans, is epazote. Not sure if it grows in the Phillipines, but I do remember reading somewhere about it becoming invasive in non-native areas. Here, I have it growing as a weed in my back yard garden, but, of course, I don't consider it a weed.