# Pollo asado and refried beans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705 "2012-04-23T16:48:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/1 "2012-04-23T16:48:31Z")
Yesterday was a pair of firsts. I miss having access to El Pollo Loco, so I looked up their marinade recipe that had been printed in _The Orange County Register_. Also, I’ve never made refried beans from scratch. Now, it’s closing in on a decade since I’ve had El Pollo Loco chicken. I can’t remember exactly how it tasted. One thing – and I’ve looked it up in a couple of places – is that it calls for 1/8 teaspoon of ‘mild chilis’, finely minced. Ar? 😕 An eighth-teaspoon isn’t enough for anything. And what’s a ‘mild chili’? I minced half of a fresh jalapeño. Couldn’t taste it. And I used a charcoal grill. I think they use a gas flame. Anyway, it was very tasty and the SO liked it. The beans were similar to how I make a ‘mess of beans’; soak them and simmer them. Normally I’d put a ham hock in. For the refried beans I boiled them with water and nothing else. SO flatly said she would _not_ eat anything with lard in it. Anyway, I couldn’t find any. So after the beans were cooked and drained, I used a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease. The name makes the difference! 😛 Add some salt and bean water, and Bob’s your auntie’s live-in lover. My first attempt at making refried beans from scratch w successful. To round it off, I made Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice with a can and a half of spicy Rotel tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes, and some good flour tortillas we bought at Cash & Carry. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/2 "2012-04-23T17:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.;14994813 SO flatly said she would _not_ eat anything with lard in it. Anyway, I couldn’t find any. So after the beans were cooked and drained, I used a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease. The name makes the difference! 😛 [/QUOTE] I was gonna say… I don’t get how bacon fat, which is full of salt and nitrates (which can become carcinogenic under high temps), is considered tasty and wonderful, while lard, particularly the rendered non-hydrogenated stuff, which has none of that, is somehow supposed to be disgusting and bad for you. I mean, you haven’t had a great pie crust until you’ve had it made with a mix of lard and butter. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/3 "2012-04-23T17:26:56Z")
Can you post a link to the marinade recipe? Sounds yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/4 "2012-04-23T19:57:42Z")
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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/5 "2012-04-23T21:09:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was gonna say… I don’t get how bacon fat, which is full of salt and nitrates (which can become carcinogenic under high temps), is considered tasty and wonderful, while lard, particularly the rendered non-hydrogenated stuff, which has none of that, is somehow supposed to be disgusting and bad for you. I mean, you haven’t had a great pie crust until you’ve had it made with a mix of lard and butter. Bacon has a better publicist. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/6 "2012-04-24T03:41:01Z")
Sounds great! I’ve used rendered bacon fat in refried beans too, and preferred it to lard. Oh, and bacon fat does not cause cancer. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/7 "2012-04-24T05:17:33Z")
> [@Snake\_Plissken](#): > > Sounds great! I’ve used rendered bacon fat in refried beans too, and preferred it to lard. Oh, and bacon fat does not cause cancer. I don’t particularly care if it does or doesn’t. I’m going to eat it in moderation anyway. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/8 "2012-04-24T15:13:43Z")
Me, too. For various definitions of “moderation.” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollo-asado-and-refried-beans/619705/9 "2012-04-25T01:05:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [StockExaminer - AI-Powered Stock Chatbot](http://www.examiner.com/article/the-el-pollo-loco-chicken-marinade-recipe) I really liked the chicken it made, but to me, it didn’t taste anything like El Pollo Loco’s chicken. Not even remotely. That said, it was still really good.