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Place a skillet over medium-high heat and add the bacon.
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Allow the bacon to cook slowly and melt its fat.
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As the bacon gets crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
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You can serve the bacon with the beans, or save them for another use.
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Keeping the skillet on the stove, decrease the heat to medium, and add the onion.
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Cook the onion slowly until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes.
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(The bacon fat can burn easily so make sure you do not increase the heat too high.)
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Once the onions are soft, add half of the beans with their broth to the pan and stir to combine well.
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Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the beans until most of them are crushed.
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Add the remaining beans with their broth and continue mashing until you achieve the consistency of a coarse puree.
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Stir to blend the mixture well.
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Continue cooking over medium heat until any liquid that remains has been absorbed and the mashed bean mixture is creamy.
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Be careful not to burn the beans because that results in a bitter flavor.
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Transfer the refried beans to a serving bowl and top with crumbles of queso fresco and crispy bacon.
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INGREDIENTS
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Bacon Drippings versus Lard
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One thing is for sure: refried beans should be made with an animal fat.
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Purists will only use lard when making these beans, but I find it is best to use bacon drippings unless you can get freshly rendered lard (the refrigerated kind).
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A benefit of bacon is the crispy bacon nuggets that are left over, which you can use as a sort of chicharron (crackling).
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TECHNIQUES
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Making Bacon Drippings
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Dont be tempted to render bacon fat over high heat.
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Make sure you set the heat no higher than medium-high.
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Animal fats tend to have low smoking points (they burn at low temperatures), which can lead to an undesirable dark color and off-flavors.
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ADVANCE PREPARATION
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This recipe can be made a couple of days in advance.
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Store the crispy bacon in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
