As much as I love being able to buy items on Amazon, their packaging can have severe issues. The other week there was a screaming deal on cans of refried beans. So we ordered up a full rack, which was 24 cans. The warehouse threw the flat into a larger box, that was far too big, with no padding added. By the time it had gotten here, the plastic wrap on the flat was long gone and the box was 24 cans playing bumper cars. Of the 24 cans, 22 were dented. We complained and Amazon refunded it. These wouldn’t be good for long-term food storage in our home with the dents, which was why we had bought them in the first place.
(If a can is dented on a seam, use it immediately or toss it. If the top or bottom of the can looks funky or feels different than similar cans, TOSS IT. If the dent is on the side of the can, but not on a seam and it’s a rounded dent, just use up within a few weeks to a month. Do not keep for long-term. See here for USDA.)
So with 24 cans of refried beans that needed to be used up, I got thinking and decided to freeze-dry them on our Harvest Right freeze-dryer, for true long-term storage. By freeze-drying them, I could bag them up, and do a bunch in single serving bags, using the MRE size mylar bags. That way we’d have ready-to-go bags for hiking, for rice & beans and bean burritos. Sounded perfect to me!
And to be honest:
I have never found a brand of dehydrated “instant” refried beans I truly liked. Most have an almost burnt smell. They tend to have a bitter flavor/aroma as well. Not only that, they are often fat free (which for long-term storage it makes sense for dehydrated ones). And in most cases, the color is so dark from the extended exposure to heat, hence the bitter nearly burnt smell.
This is one commercially available brand but it isn’t one I like.
Or worse they have sketchy oils added:
Every few years I’ll take a gamble on a new brand, but I am never happy.
Let’s Get Going:
I cut 5 sheets of parchment paper to fit the trays in our Large size freeze-dryer.
Open the cans up and dump out onto the trays, spreading it uniformly thick – a large spoon, the back of it works well. For the Large freeze-dryer I used 3 cans per tray. I used traditional beans, which contained lard. I find the taste is best, and they spread best, versus the vegetarian ones that use cottonseed or canola oils.
Cover the trays with lids, and freeze until solid in your freezer.
Turn your freeze-dryer on to chill (we give ours about 45 minutes), then add the trays to the machine.
Set the machine to run. The machine runs on automatic.
Once it says it is done, with gloved fingers, poke in to the trays, in the middle to ensure it is fully freeze-dried and no moisture is present. If it isn’t, you can set for a few more hours and that will finish it. We added a few more hours on our run, but our trays were pretty heavily loaded.
Take out a tray at a time, and knock into a large mixing bowl to break up. Then bag up into mylar bags (the MRE size ones work well for single servings for trail burritos) or into glass mason jars for pantry storage. Add in an oxygen absorber, and a desiccant packet if desired, then seal the bag/container. See this post on how to do all the methods.
How To Rehydrate:
I tested the beans for the water ratio. I found ½ cup freeze-dried refried beans worked perfect with 5 Tablespoons boiling water. They were usable almost immediately after adding the water.
It’s the perfect amount for 1 person making bean burritos, or topping instant rice with, for a fiber packed meal.
FTC Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that give us commissions on products purchased. These items are what we used above.
~Sarah