Someone Who Knows About "Real" Mexican Food...

I couldn't be whiter, but this is the recipe I got from a good friend, who is from Mexico.

Sort and rinse the beans. Place in a crockpot with twice as much well salted water as beans (eyeball it).

Sautee an onion, serrano peppers (I do three for a whole small bag of beans), a medium tomato and some garlic (a few cloves, depending on size, pressed or chopped finely). Add to pot. Cook on low overnight or all day.

Heat oil in a skillet. It's probably about 1/4 cup. Add the beans (leave out the onions, tomato skins and peppers) and some liquid. Fry and mash, fry and mash.

I've seen other people of Mexican descent add milk and/or cheese, so we generally do, too. Makes them creamy and rich.

We are Mexican American. The recipes I will share are from our Family Cookbook. My Grandmother and her sister were the 2 ladies that cooked for decades at the famous Green and White Grocery here in Austin.

No LARD for pots of beans. You can use lard or bacon grease when you are going to make refried beans..

You use salt pork..for a pot of beans. Makes a huge difference in the flavor. .

2 cups dried pinto beans 8 cups water
2 cloves garlic (crushed) 1 tsp salt.
1/4 - 1/2 cup cubed salt pork (or Bacon)

Sort beans and remove bits of debris! place in a colander and rinse well.
In a large pot partially cover pot with a loose fitting lid: lower heat and simmer for 2 hours. When more water is needed always add Boiling water. Adding boiling water is one of the secrets to making good pinto beans.

When the beans are done use a large spoon to mash a few beans to the inside of the pot.Cooked beans can be served in bowls and sprinkled with cilantro,.

If you ever over salt the beans you can add a raw cut up potato, it will absorb the extra salt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Refried Beans
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of lard (or bacon grease or peanut oil). Begin adding small amounts of cooked fresh pinto beans with very little liquid: mash the beans with a potato masher and stir and cook. continue to add beans in the same manner, adding beans and liquid to keep the beans moist. Cook and stir until your desired consistency.

This is the one you're looking for:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buffys-refried-beans/detail....

follow the recipe on the bag of dried beans. When they are done scoop some in a skillet and mash them up with the LARD that everyone is suggesting. Another option is to use bacon grease. After cooking your bacon pour the grease in an empty jar. Put it in the freezer. When you make your beans put it in the fridge to thaw. And use that. And NO, turkey bacon won't do it. ;0)

All I know is that the secret is LARD. That's what makes the recipe.
http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/Great_refried_beans_reci...

OK - tex mex here.
BACON.......That's how Granny makes here beans (down by Corpus Christi TX).
You can soak the beans over night or not....rinse them though. Cover with a few inches of water to compensate for the swelling and provide liquid. Toss in garlic and onion and a chopped up package of bacon (or not the whole package whatever you want). Cook til tender then salt and pepper to taste. And serve with corn bread - don't forget a little sugar in your corn bread mix!

'Real' Mexicans use lard in much of their cooking, that's probably what you are tasting. I don't like beans but I overheard quite a few discussions about the 'right' way to make them. Good luck!

I'm of Hispanic heritage, my gggggg-grandfather came from Sinaloa, Mexico and was one of the "pobladores" who founded the city of Los Angeles. But my trick comes from a friend of the family (also Hispanic) who owned a Mexican restaurant. Along with the lard you fry the beans in add a little bit of milk to make them creamier. I also add some shredded cheese sometimes because I LOVE cheese, but everyone loves them with just the milk as well.

i absolutely love that you asked this question!
so many people now a days are obsessed with healthy food (myself included! but i wasnt always like that, and personally im very laid back when it comes to anything, im just trying to lose weight and not become a diabetic or have to deal with high blood pressure issues when im an adult, i mean, i AM an adult, i meant when im OLD!)
but sometimes we have to let go and have the fatty delicious re-fried beans, once in a little while wont hurt you!

oh an dim sure they use lard, and pinto beans. thats all i know for sure. find a recipe with lard and you got yourself a fatty tasty piece of work right there

I am in no way qualified to answer this considering my heritage, however I LOVE cooking Mexican food. Homemade tamales, variety of enchiladas, fried chimichangas etc... I don't make my beans from scratch yet, but i do embellish mine to make themmextra tasty.
-heat can of rosaritas beans in saucepan on stove
-chop cooked bacon until super tiny and blend with beans
-stir in milk, mayo, or sour cream to add creaminess (my fav is sour cream)
-add a little cumin
-stir in a little cheese (any kind u like)
-I don't likenstirring in the cheese, I prefer to serve the beans and then crumble cojita cheese on top.

My hubby is mexican and we just make our beans in the crock pot with your regular seasonings, any flavor of bouillon cube, cumin, and red chili powder. The one thing he is really particular about is when mashing to make refried beans we must add white cheese and melt it in, either asadero or monterey jack which is what we usually have on hand.

I'm part Mexican & we no longer add Lard to our beans.
We either boil the ones in the bag and eat the that way (much healthier)
dad will take those out sometimes and mash them in skillet
or
since I'm only part Mex I buy Rosarita refried beans, put them in skillet w/ tsp of olive oil to make them less pasty. Yum. My family loves them & a bit healthier too. :)
Every once in awhile I will add a few thin slices of Monterey Jack cheese to melt in (the cheese w/the specks of chilies).

My family used to get together to make Tamales every year (yum miss those), enchiladas etc.

I now make my own version of easy enchiladas. Sometimes I use Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade recipe to make my life so much EASIER and quicker. ha ha :) My poor grandparents would be so sad to read this. Sorry Abuela. Que lastima.

I've only made mine from scratch once - use LARD....

I'm interested to read the other responses....

How you make them depends on you. The process is similar but the seasoning and additives are up to you.
I grew up around all Mexican Americans. Each family made their refried beans different. All were extremely yummy. One of my friends moms used to add some shredded american cheese to hers, pure goodness (still makes my mouth water). I know some use Epazote seasoning as well.
I use pinto beans, garlic, and bacon fat.
Laurie A posted a good recipe, it's basically how I do mine too.