Recipe: Roasted Beans (for refried beans)

Roasted Beans (for refried beans)
rec.food.cooking/Stan Dornfeld/2001

I stumbled into this idea when I saw my wife using some Pinto beans in foil to hold down a pie crust while baking it. She had used the same beans on several crusts. The last time was a lemon meringue pie. I took the pie crust out for her and sniffed the beans. They had taken on a toasted aroma. Soooo good!

So... I decided to roast the beans before boiling them for refried beans. I took about two pounds of beans and picked through them for cleaning. I then put them in a pot with cool water and one small drop of liquid hand dishwashing soap. The soap breaks the surface tension so they can more easily be washed. I rinsed the beans two more times and colandered the water out. I poured and leveled them into a brownie pan and placed them in a 350 degree oven for about fifteen minutes to roast. I stirred the beans about three times to even the roasting. The first stirring was pretty steamy.

I soaked them overnight and began cooking them the next day. They seem to take a bit longer to cook than the non roasted ones.

The other ingredients:

3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
2-3 medium cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp bacon grease for flavor (grease from burned bacon is not good.)
1/3 lb Monterey Jack cheese
salt on the easy side because after refrying the beans are more concentrated and may be a bit salty.

Fry in 3-4 Tbsp Lard to keep beans from sticking also add the cheese.

This is the way my wife and I love them. Two or three Jalapenos roasted, cleaned, chopped, and added to the boiling pot adds a bit of interest to the mix if you want.

The roasting added a lot of flavor.