Slow Cooker "Refried" Pinto Beans

I am a bean lover. Love love love them. I could eat beans for every meal and never get sick of them. Bean soup, bean chili, beans with eggs for breakfast - the possibilities are nearly endless. And don't even get me started on refried beans, which I could eat in a myriad of formats - nachos, tacos, burritos, baleadas (a Honduran style bean quesadillas), bean dip, and so much more.  Living in Ireland, it's hard to get your hands on cheap beans. For some reason, beans are exorbitantly expensive here. A can of refried beans costs nearly 2 euro, which is at least a 100% markup from the same product in the USA. I know not why this is the case. Maybe because the Irish palate hasn't awoken to the joys of beans, so the grocery stores think they can squeeze those of us for whom the consumption of beans is non-negotiable. Maybe we are farther away from prime bean-growing habitat, and beans are comparatively expensive to transport. Maybe there's a secret Irish bean mafia that has a monopoly on imports. Regardless, my bean-craving ways would have put a serious dent in our finances had it not been for my discovery/creation of this amazing recipe, which makes an entire crock pot full of delicious beans for a comparatively reasonable price. (A pound of dried pinto beans at the store is 1.40 euro, which is still way more than the same product would cost in the US, but makes a huge quantity of refried beans for a fraction of the price of buying them ready made.) I actually looked into the possibility of growing my own black and pinto beans, but sadly it's not in the climate cards. Who'd a thunk Mexican beans would prefer a semi-arid and hot to drizzly wet and miserable?

Without further ado, my slow cooker "refried" beans recipe that I would make every week if Sam would let me. (On one hand, it is sad that he doesn't quite share my enthusiasm for beans. On the other hand - that means more beans for me!!) As people accustomed to working with dried beans will be aware, this recipe does take some advance planning. Dried beans do best when soaked for at least 12 hours. I like to boil them for a half hour before soaking to really soften them up. So you're looking at nearly 24 hours of time from when you start craving beans until you finally get to eat them. It sounds like an excruciatingly long time, but this recipe is worth the wait!

Warning: The bean concoction prepared by this recipe fulfills the same purpose as the refried beans you can get in a can but is a bit different in texture and flavor. Strictly speaking, they are not refried in lard, as traditional refried beans would be. The resulting consistency is more like Grandma's baked beans than the thick concrete-like goop that comes from a can. The flavor is also a bit different, but in a good way - hearty and savory, with that homemade goodness that something from a can can never emulate.

Time Involved:

A half hour of boiling, plus 12+ hours of soaking to prepare dried beans. Once beans are ready to go (but not cooked), about 15 minutes prep time, plus 6+ hours in slow cooker.

Necessary Ingredients/Tools:

Large pot

Slow cooker

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 onion, diced

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 packet taco seasoning - or make your own like I do by sloshing in a goodly amount of dried cumin, a little garlic powder, some paprika, some black pepper, and as much cayenne as you can take. I don't measure precisely, I just flip open the spice lids and shake wantonly. I live on the wild side when it comes to cooking, remember?

1 fatty pork chop, bone in and skin on if possible

Salt, to taste

Directions:

1.) Rinse dried refried beans, place in large pot, and cover liberally with water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and allow beans to soak for 12+ hours (overnight is good).

2.) After soaking, drain the beans, rinse well, and place in slow cooker.

3.) Add diced onion, pork chop, seasoning mix, and one can diced tomatoes.

4.) Using leftover tomato can, add anywhere from 1/2 to 1.5 cans of water. The precise amount is a little tricky to know - you want about 1/2 to 2/3 the beans to be covered in water, but you don't want the beans submerged fully or your end product will be too watery. I would err slightly on the side of not enough water since you can always add more if they seem too goopy or are starting to burn.

5.) Stir well and make sure no beans are sticking to the bottom of the pot.

6.) Cover and cook on high for 1/2 hour, then turn heat down to low for at least 6 hours, but anywhere from 8-12 hours is fine too. Stir occasionally if you're around to do it.

7.) During cooking, the pork chop should have broken down into a succulent shreddy mess. Fish out all the hunks, including all the fat and the bone. Once it's cooled a little, finely shred the meat with a fork and knife or your fingers and return to the pot. You can throw the fat back in, too. (Refried beans are chock full of lard, so don't be shy with the pig fat. It's good for you!) Make sure you've removed all bones.

8.) Salt to taste. Do this at the end, as salt can toughen up beans during the cooking process.

Enjoy! These beans can be eaten as a side, or can be used in any number of tortilla or egg-based dishes. This recipe makes a lot of beans, so there will likely be leftovers, which just means there will be even more beanly goodness in your future. They can also be frozen into suitable serving sizes for enjoyment at some future point if the idea of beans breakfast, lunch and dinner for days on end does not appeal.