Spatula.

Open one end of the can. Hang the can over the pot, open end down. Come back tomorrow.

or "spoonula" -- handy for that scooping action.

No experience with them in a can, but I'm going to bet most of the options suggested above will work, or did you need advise about a can opener as well? If it's also about the can opener and you are cutting off both ends and pushing the beans through the opening, I would suggest a safety lid can opener that doesn't leave a sharp, cutting edge on the can like a Kuhn Rikon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQchCbxjUKE

Run a table knife around the sides of the can to break the 'seal" and then run it again tugging at the beans as you go. They'll come right out.

Albert, if you have not tried the instant, dehydrated refried beans/ bean flakes, you ought to give them a test. They are sooo much better than the canned beans. Taste almost home-made without the taste of the can.

Grainlady - In the video she says "the lid will not fall back in the can." If I'm interpreting that correctly (and if it works like similar can openers I've used) then the lid cannot be pushed through for the "open both ends" method. Which, by the way, I'd recommend. I always do that for tomato paste.

foodonastump

The lid will NOT push through - as in drop back into the food like a standard can opener. Part of the rim of the can is cut off the top so there are NO sharp edges - on the lid or on the rim of the can.

For tomato paste - no can necessary: Mix 100% pure tomato powder with water (NO other ingredients, including sugars or salt - and a home food storage MUST HAVE).

For tomato paste use 3 parts water with 1 part powder; for tomato sauce mix 4 parts water with 1 part powder. Make what you want, when you want, and it has an indefinite shelf-life (I store mine in the dry environment of the refrigerator with a moisture absorbing "pillow" on the top of the tomato powder to absorb any moisture that enters when the top if off.) I use it to make pizza sauce, red sauce for pasta, tomato juice, and even homemade versions of catsup and BBQ sauce - anything that uses tomato paste/sauce.

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I would also recommend dehydrated pinto or black bean flakes (I get mine from Frontier Natural Products - on sale at Vitacost - http://www.vitacost.com/frontier-natural-products-organic-pinto-beans-flakes.  I also make "instant" refried beans (takes 5-6 minutes of cooking) by milling beans into bean flour. And yet one more method.... When I cook beans I make extra and dehydrate them and just add hot water to reconstitute for refried beans.

I'd likely use a table knife as suggested by laceyvail - then a spatula to get the remaining bits.

I just use a large wooden spoon or spatula and scoop them out.

I don't know if it's because I buy organic that the cans are different (some display that they are BPA free cans) but the bottoms of most canned food I buy - mostly beans and tomato products - these days do not have a removable bottom. It is kind of rounded and formed in a way that you can't use a can opener on them.

Thanks. I was embarrassed to ask. There really are stupid questions. What other way could there be except scoop the contrary things out? But I asked and learned of dehydrated refried beans. A new product to me.

Thanks for coming back and saying. I wasn't sure it was even a real question (nothing wrong with asking a question, no matter how "stupid", if you want to know the answer). I too learned about the dehydrated beans. ;)

I also just scoop mine out with a "spoonula", mine fits inside the can perfectly. Like Olychick, I'm finding that the cans have rounded bottoms now and so both ends cannot be removed from the can (like I used to do with that canned cranberry sauce my girls are so enamoured of). Dried ones are OK, but I don't like them well enough to seek them out, they aren't common in my grocery store. Most of the time I just use leftover pinto beans or whatever we used for our latest "pot of beans", just mash 'em up, add seasonings and plop into the pan. Just like that, refried beans.

As for that Kuhn Rikon can opener, well, Elery has one. I've tried and tried to use it, and one day at his house was reduced to using my swiss army knife can opener to open a can of water chestnuts for dip, after 20 minutes of messing with that can opener from he!!. I've never, ever, ever been able to get it to work for me. Elery will patiently show me.....AGAIN....and I still can't use it. The instrument of torture is packed in a box in the pole barn somewhere and I have no intention of finding it! Oh, and his son can't make it work either, so I don't feel so badly. His suggestion was that I should fling the can out onto the driveway and run over it. (grin)

Annie

I don't know if it's because I buy organic that the cans are different (some display that they are BPA free cans) but the bottoms of most canned food I buy - mostly beans and tomato products - these days do not have a removable bottom. It is kind of rounded and formed in a way that you can't use a can opener on them.

Actually, while it's tricky, it is possible with an old-fashioned hand-operated one (the thin cheap kind, not the cushy handle variety), but it is a nuisance, and I should have thought of that. I usually make frijoles from scratch and our local supermarket only carries brands like Old El Paso that still have old-style cans, nothing organic or BPA free in the refried beans line.

I use these for scraping refried beans and most things whether in a can, pot, or bowl. I love them and have brought them to CF get-togethers as gifts several times, last time was to Sheshebop's house.

Annie, Well the HG is in good company! I have that KR can opener...we were at a CF Camp in SC and he called saying he was going to "starve" because he couldn't use the can opener. We had a big laugh over that. My BIL came over and showed him how to use it, well he tried to show him. He still can't use it so I bought an old fashion one for emergencies.

Well, you could tell HG to fling the can into the driveway and run over it. I didn't try it, but it seems like it could work more efficiently than that Kuhn Rikon.

Alternatively, you could provide him with a Swiss Army Knife, something I always keep in my vehicle. The little can opener takes a while, but it's effective. My other alternative was to use the sharp triangle point of an old fashioned "church key" can and bottle opener, and just make perforations around the edge far enough to bend the lid back!

Annie

Here, we have lids that you pull off cans. Very rare to need a can opener today LOL don't know anything about your strange-sounding beans, though!

Yes, many things come with pop tops here, too, Islay. Refried beans are very thick and they tend to be very solid when cold (as in the can). Pic for you (not mine, stolen from internets):

They aren't hard to make from scratch, but it takes a long time so most folks use canned.

Yes, there are lots of pop top cans here in the US, too. I really don't like them because they're silicone spatula destroyers. That sharp edge slices into the edge of the spatula.

If you use a pressure cooker to cook your beans, refried beans don't have to take a long time to prepare. I get them going and have them cook while I doing other prep like assembling enchiladas & making guacamole. Once the main dish is in the oven, I can finish up the beans. I'd rather make refried beans than something like mashed potatoes...less work.

Thank you for the pics.