Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
- 3 quarts of water
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
- 2 Tbsp pork lard, bacon fat, or olive oil (for vegetarian option)
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt to taste
- Cheddar cheese (optional)
Method
1 Rinse the beans in water and remove any small
stones, pieces of dirt, or bad beans.
2 Cook the beans in water.
Pressure Cooker method Put beans into a 4 quart pressure
cooker with a 15 lb weight. Fill up the pressure cooker with water, up
to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot. Cook for 30-35
minutes - until the beans are soft and the skins are barely breaking
open.
Regular method Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at
least 3 inches of water - about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans.
Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2
hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you
have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just
beginning to break open.
Strain the beans from the cooking water.
3 Add the onions and lard/fat/oil to a wide, sturdy (not with a
flimsy stick-free lining) frying pan on medium high heat. Cook onions
until translucent. (Note the onions are optional, you can skip them if
you want.) Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of water to the
pan. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are
cooking them, until they are a rough purée. Add more water if necessary
to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out. Add salt to taste.
Add a few slices of cheddar cheese, or some (1/2 cup) grated cheddar
cheese if you want. When beans are heated through (and optional cheese
melted) the beans are ready to serve.
Note that many recipes call for soaking the beans overnight and
discarding the soaking liquid. We don't. We discard the cooking liquid
and just add some water back into the frying pan when we are frying the
beans.
