Refried Beans 1 pound dried pinto or black beans water 2 bay leaves 1/4 teaspoon dried epazote (optional, Mexican herb said to reduce gassiness) 1 medium onion, 1/2 minced (about 1/2 cup), 1/2 left whole 4 medium cloves garlic, divided (or two small frozen cubes) 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (and maybe some chipotle powder too) salt 4 tablespoons oil, butter, or mix (can also use lard or bacon fat) Instant Pot Method Put beans, uncut half onion, garlic, cumin and a bay leaf or two into the pot. Add quite a bit of water - to cover the beans by 2.5 - 3". Add a splash of oil. Close the top and set the machine to pressure cook. Press "beans" and then go to '+/-' and press the + button until it says 34 minutes. It will be done and openable in something like an hour. Reserve the bean cooking liquid. Pressure Cooker Method: Put beans, herbs, half the garlic and the intact onion half into the pressure cooker. Add water up to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot (halfway point). Add 1 tablespoon of oil to reduce foaming. Put lid on without the weight, and heat on high until steam is steadily admitted (about 8 minutes). Then put on the weight. Wait until the cooker is fully up to temp (different with different cookers, can be when the weight is dancing, on mine it's when you see 3 lines on the popup indicator). Set the timer for 34 minutes and reduce heat to medium low. (This varies too - on my stove low is a bit too low. Keep the pressure up!) When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it cool naturally. Remove the bay leaves and push the onion and/or garlic through a strainer back into the pot. Put a colander in a large bowl. Dump the contents of the pressure cooker into the colander, then lift the colander out and set it over the open pressure cooker pot to drain. Reserve all of the bean cooking liquid. Pot Method: (description of normal presoak omitted) In a large pot, cover the beans with cold water by at least 2 inches. Add herbs, the intact onion half, and garlic cloves and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are very tender. Drain beans, reserving all of the bean-cooking liquid. Discard herbs, put onion and garlic into a strainer and press as much as you can into the drained beans. Refritos In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of lard, bacon drippings, or oil until shimmering, or butter until foaming, over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and lightly golden, 7-9 minutes. Add remaining garlic and the cumin. Stir in beans and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of reserved broth to start, but keep at least 2 more cups. 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. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until desired consistency is reached. If refried beans are too dry, add more broth, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Season with salt and serve. The beans will thicken as they are stored, so make them a bit runny. Work in about 2 cups and keep 2 more cups of bean liquid if you aren't going to serve the beans the day you cook them. You can thin the beans with that liquid when heating before serving. If you don't have any, just thin with water.