/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>20263438
Pay an old Mexican woman to make a couple days worth of food.

Lard

>>20263438
lard or bacon grease really is the secret to refried beans, you can add onions or seasonings as well, but lard is going to give you what you want
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_lEE5TynVs&
is a good vid on it, he kinda goes the extra mile at every opportunity, so dont think you have to add everything he does. you could also use an immersion blender if you wanted instead of smashing
for mexican rice, this is my favorite recipe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro9A3h3d_aQ

>>20263438
For refried beans
>Lard
>Don't use canned beans, use dry beans so you can use the bean water instead of water to thin them out
>Use way more garlic than you think you have to
>If you use fresh onion instead of onion powder (you should), caramelize the shit out of them in the lard before adding the beans. It's not enough for them to be sauteed. Nuke them. A bit of char, or even a moderate amount of char, is not bad here because it mimics how the Mexicans cook peppers and shit with a bit of charred skin, makes it smokey
>A bit of cumin, chili powder, oregano, and cacao powder (i.e. taco seasoning) never hurt anyone
>Also some tomato paste
Cook the shit out of your onions, add the tomato paste (optional) and cook that down, then add in the garlic and spice powders and let those wake up, then add in the beans. Mash, and thin out with the bean water. Optional: throw in some cheese and cilantro. You can always use them as garnish right before serving but the cheese mixes in really well and if you already know how much you like going in there's no real point not doing it.
Also, make a huge pot of it at once. It's really no extra work and refried beans freeze very well.

>>20263438
>beans
the method I use is basically the chef john method, but I use bacon grease instead of butter or lard, look up his recipe on YouTube and follow it
>spanish rice
my mom is Mexican, we grew up eating a lot of beans and rice, she would always make it in a pan, but nowadays I make it part pan, part rice cooker
basic method is this:
>dice and saute onion
>add long grain rice and fry until toasted
>scrape everything into a rice cooker
I have a basic zojirushi that I have had for like the last ten years
>mix a liquid of 1/2 broth, 1/2 El Pato, 1-1 volume for rice dry
basically one cup on rice and one cup total liquid, or just follow your rice cookers instructions for liquid amount
>add frozen peas and a few garlic cloves
>close and cook
makes perfect Spanish rice every time, and with kids and work it's an easy addition to a meal for the family
even my mom now uses this method

>>20263438
lard but also butter to make them creamy, more cumin than you'd expect
black beans are a great alternative but not exactly right

>>20263468
this

>>20263438
One thing is to cook them separately, because rice and beans have different cooking times. Soccer mom types while meaning well will cook them together and realize some nasty mush, they mean well but will fuck up, they always do.

>>20263438
That looks like something strange, like youd feed to prisoners before they get the thirteen steps.

>>20263438
my mom has never used lard and her beans are life changing. traditional beans are great, but I don't know what my mom does to make them reconsider your life choices. I know she uses olive oil and garlic, but I could ask her if you want

>>20263438
I always blend them in the blender. Fuck the whole "mash in the pan" bs, it always comes out chunky which is inauthentic and for some reason actually tastes worse. Probably because I'm not getting as much butter/lard per scoop.

opie I like this recipe but I think I need to add chopped onions at the least, it's nice but a little too "neutral".

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/spicy-refried-beans-recipe-1925005

>>20267354
specifically I blend the beans and chicken stock before adding to the pan

>>20267339
Please do, and post the recipe.