Published: by Absolutely Recipes, in the recipes category.

Perfect Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos).
Recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (227g) dried pinto or black beans
Water
2 sprigs fresh epazote or oregano (see note)
1 medium white onion, 1/2 minced (about 1/2 cup; 26g), 1/2 left whole
2 medium cloves garlic
Kosher salt
6 TBSPs (77g) lard, bacon drippings, vegetable oil, or butter (see note)

Recipe Instructions:

In a large pot, cover the beans with cold water by at least 2 inches.
Add herb sprigs, the whole onion half, and garlic cloves and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are very tender, about 1 to 2 hours.
Season with salt.
Drain beans, reserving bean-cooking liquid.
You should have about 3 cups of cooked beans; if you have more, measure out 3 cups of beans and reserve the rest for another use.
Discard herb sprigs, onion, and garlic.
In a large skillet, heat lard, bacon drippings, or oil until shimmering, or butter until foaming, over medium-high heat.
Add minced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and lightly golden, about 7 minutes.
Stir in beans and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup of reserved bean-cooking liquid.
Using bean masher, potato masher, or back of a wooden spoon, smash the beans to form a chunky purée; alternatively, use a stick blender to make a smoother purée.
Thin with more bean cooking water until desired consistency is reached.
If refried beans become too wet, simmer, stirring, until thickened; if they become too dry, add more bean-cooking liquid, 1 TBSP at a time, as needed.
Season with salt and serve.
Special equipment
Bean masher, potato masher, or stick blender
Notes
Epazote, a Mexican herb, can be found at Mexican grocers.
To add other flavors to the refried beans, try sautéing a pinch of ground cumin or fresh chiles with the minced onion, or puréeing toasted dried chiles into the mixture.
Different cooking fats give different flavors to the beans: lard is one of the most traditional, and it adds a porky, funky depth to the beans that's hard to beat; bacon ups the ante even more by layering in a smoky flavor; vegetable oil keeps things neutral so you can really enjoy the flavor of the beans and the aromatics; and butter is decadent and rich without being overpowering.

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