Instructions: 1. Sort beans and place in large stockpot. Fill pot with water so that beans are covered by 4" of water. Leave beans to soak overnight.

(Alternative: instead of soaking overnight, bring beans and water to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to sit for two or three hours.)

2. Drain water and rinse beans. Replace water, but this time the water should only be about 1" above the top of the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so that beans are simmering. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 hours, or until beans are getting pretty soft. Watch water level! You dont want the water to go below the top of the beans, but if you add too much, you will have watery refritos.

NOTE: DO NOT SALT BEANS UNTIL AFTER THEY ARE SOFT. Adding salt to the cooking water makes the skin of the bean tough!

3. Bacon: since you use only the lard (grease) from the bacon, I recommend starting with a good-flavored bacon. I prefer a maple-flavored bacon made in Canada (Fletchers). Fry the strips whole for BLTs or breakfast, and reserve the grease. If you have no use for cooked bacon strips, cut up the raw bacon in small pieces, fry until crisp, and scoop out with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels, cool and put in a ziplock bag and freeze or refrigerate for the next time youre having baked potatoes and use the bacon as a topping.

4. When beans are cooked to the point where they mash easily with a spoon, youre ready to season the beans. Add about 1/4 cup of the bacon lard and 1 teaspoon salt. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

5. Now youre ready to mash the beans. I use a hand-blender for this.

Remove the beans from the heat and use the handblender to puree the beans.

If necessary add a bit more water, but carefully! You dont want them too watery. (If you dont own a hand-blender, use a regular blender and process in batches...but this will be a lot more messy and time consuming.)

6. If youre not ready to serve the beans at this time, DO NOT place them back on the burner! Once the beans are mashed, they will scorch very easily. Scooped the refritos into a casserole and keep warm in the oven or reheat in the microwave (oven preferred).

These beans freeze extremely well.

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