Thursday, March 18, 2010

Beef and Bean Burritos: My Childhood Favorite

When I was a kid, few things thrilled me more than walking into our kitchen and seeing my mom making a giant platter of grilled burritos. Maybe that makes you think that I didn't have a very thrilling childhood, but you should reserve your judgment until you've tried these.

There is nothing fancy about these burritos. I've tried fancifying them with extra ingredients or spices, but I always return to them in their simplest form. So that is what I'm going to share with you. Let's get started, shall we?

We start with the beans. I've gotten in the habit of making my own refried beans, because it's easy and delicious. But, you can easily skip this step and use a can of refried beans. You'll still get full credit.

Dump a large can of pinto beans (drain a little bean juice off first, but not all of it) and a small can of diced green chiles into a medium saucepan. Add a pat of butter and stir it all around. Let it simmer on a low/medium stove for a while and bubble and brew all together. When they're done cooking, use a zhuzher to zhuzh them into the blissful smooth beans they were meant to be.

Next, brown a pound of ground beef in a frying pan. Add some spices--salt, pepper, and cumin. I also like some of this Mexican all-purpose seasoning.

Next, it's time to drain the fat. Push all of the meat to the end of the frying pan furthest from the handle. Tip the pan so the grease drains away from the meat and toward the handle. Give it enough time to really accumulate and think of all the calories you're saving by doing this. Take a few paper towels and stick them right in the pan to absorb all that fat. If you don't have any paper towels, you could use a maxi pad or diaper.
Now it's time to marry the beans with the beef. (If you're using canned refried beans, this is where you dump them right into your meat.)

Do you, Beef, take Beans to be your lawfully wedded fiber? And do you, Beans, take Beef to be your lawfully wedded protein? You may now get busy!
Don't they make the best couple? You should have a nice, thick, beefy-beany paste. Let it honeymoon for a minute while you heat your griddle to 300-350 degrees.
Now you're ready to set up a little burrito making station. Get out your flour tortillas, shredded cheese, and two plates.
Take a tortilla and spread some of the beef and bean mixture right down the middle, then sprinkle it with cheese and place it on a plate in the microwave for 22 seconds. (Why 22 seconds? Because I feel bad for all the numbers that aren't integers of 5; they always get left out of the microwaving fun.) You need to warm this in the microwave so that your tortilla is nice and pliable. While one burrito is in the microwave, begin preparing the next one. That's why you need two plates--one in the microwave and one at your fixing station.
Take your soft tortilla and tuck the ends in first and then roll it up, nice and tight.
You're ready to grill! Place the burrito on the grill, with the fold directly on the grill. This will seal it closed and help to keep it's shape. Add the burritos one by one to the prepared grill.
You want to grill them on four sides for maximum tastiness. This is the grilling order: bottom (with fold), top, side, side. The burritos will all be at different stages of grilling, so they will rotate and come off the grill in the same order that they went on.

If you're making a lot of burritos, you can turn your oven to a low heat (as low as it will go) and put the finished burritos on a tray in the oven to keep them all warm until serving.

Alright, it's time to eat! Serve your burritos with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or my personal favorite--KETCHUP! Mmmmm!
I think you should make these today. I think they will make you happy. Plus, your house will smell amazing. Plus, you'll have a deeper understanding of my blog and all my references to burritos. And I think that's important for both of us.

21 comments:

Miranda said...

You're right. It IS important for both of us that I know this recipe. I've been wondering about it since I started reading your blog! Mazel Tov to the happy bean/beef couple.

Hildie said...

Thanks for planning my dinner tonight! Actually I kind of want these right now for breakfast. But I have no pinto beans! What kind of Texan am I? (answer: not a real one.)

Anonymous said...

These look soo good. I am going to have to try them. Except for the fact that I will have to use a maxipad because my mom doesn't believe in paper towels. They are considered a "luxury" item at my house. Of course my mom will have to Weight Watcher them and we will make them with 1pt tortillas and fat free beans and cheese. :(

Hil said...

Yum. I know what's for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing.

Kim said...

We totally grew up using ketchup on our tacos. Todd thought it was strange. They sound yummy. I like to rinse my ground beef in hot water, thus even more calories can be washed away. I'll give them a try.

Kristina P. said...

So simple and delicious!

Angie said...

Goodness, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last read your blog! I've missed so much. I'm sorry about your taxes and hope that your mom's surgery goes well. The burritos look delicious! And I think you could do with one more child as long is it's a girl - wouldn't that be fun?

Alyssa said...

mmmm, I'll have to try a minus ground beef version this weekend. And I think I'll try making my own refried beans!

lemoniepants said...

dinner tonight, done and done!

Tiffany said...

Kim, I love the tip for rinsing the beef in hot water. Brilliant!

Christy said...

You are so cute & funny, even the plate was happy.

The marriage analogy was hilarious! Great post!

Jesse C said...

These are a staple for us. We love them.

Becky said...

Yummmm. Thanks for sharing. Love the pictures, and the humor! You are so great!!!

Ginnie said...

¡Yo quiero grilled burrito's!

kami @ nobiggie.net said...

Yum! I bet your homemade version of refried beans tastes so much better! My kids will love this, I just know it.

Mia said...

You have to re-season the beef if you rinse it with hot water... These sound so scrumptious, but I can't justify a whole batch just for myself. Can't wait for the hubby to get home these are right up his alley!

Hil said...

made these tonight. SERIOUSLY so good. thank you for sharing!!

tiburon said...

You lost me at beans.

Then you got me back with the zhuzhing.

Then you lost me again with more beans.

Omgirl said...

I might have to stop reading your blog until I'm off my diet. On the other hand, burritos with greasy paper towels in them don't sound that appetizing.

(Kidding. I actually did realize that you should probably throw the greasy paper towels away, not add them in. But I'm sticking to this image so that I will not feel like crying my eyes out that I can't have one right now.)

L said...

Fantastico! But, allow me to introduce you to the Costco cook 'em up yourself tortillas. Look for them in the refrigerator section next to the artichoke jalapeno dip, seven layer gunk and other chilled yummies. (Fortunately they can also be frozen since costco only sells them by the pallet.) With your tasty recipe you could skip the whole microwave portion of the program and just slather the meat/bean marital bliss down the middle of the uncooked tortilla. Then wrap them up and off to the grill. I swear on my sombrero you'll never eat precooked tortillas again!
Lisa H (Utah)

marta said...

am totally making these for cinco de mayo. i came all the way back here to jot down the recipe. hooray for a good burrito excuse.

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