Is the Mexican side dish, "re-fried beans", actually fried twice?

Question

My Mother, Aunt, and I are peacefully arguing that re-fried beans are fried twice. I believe the soaked beans are boiled first for about an hour or until tender, drained, and then put in a skillet with hot oil and "smashed" and seasoned until the beans are partially smooth, and very tasty. I've made them this way several times, but now I'm being challenged that they have to fried twice! It may be silly, but it will drive me crazy until I find out for sure!

Answer 1

I have never prepared these as "fried twice" nor have I seen them prepared by twice frying. If some persons are frying them twice as standard practice, it is an exception from the standard method of preparation.

Quote From Wikipedia:
"The English term "refried," often interpreted as "fried again," is a mistranslation of the Spanish prefix re- as a shortening of the word "sobre," meaning "over." In fact, the beans are fried only once and the term refrito is actually a reference to overfrying the bean paste so that it dries out to retain a shape for serving purposes."

Answer 2

I haven't seen a recipe where they are fried twice. I assume the re-fried means cooked twice as in the initial boil.

Answer 3

not tyraditionally. refried beans is the american pronuciation of "frijoles refritos" which literally means beans well cooked.

Take pinto beans rinse,soak overnight, rinse, cover with water, boil till falling apart drain reserving liqiud. Semi-mash (u want some lumps) & stir in some of the cooking liquid.

Answer 4

To Hispanics they are called Frijoles.
They are'nt actually refried,but well fried.
I use canned Pintos,and cook them (in an iron skillet)
the same way you do.

Answer 5

Yes, they are fried twice, hence the name.

Answer 6

try going to www.foodnetwork.com and putting it in their search engine.