Learning to Cook Beans - Need Spice and Prep Advice (skillet, bbq)

[hotzcatz]

If you are using dry beans, try adding a bit of baking soda to the water while boiling them. They will cook a lot faster.

We have a big pot of bean & pork soup today. Small white beans, some onion, some chicken broth, couple of carrots, the leftover pork from the last feral pig we slaughtered and a bit of liquid smoke. Hmm, a dab of molasses would have gone well in that. Sage and bay leaves for herbs. The beans were boiled and simmered in the chicken broth until they were soft, then they were drained and that broth was fed to the dogs after it cooled down. Then more chicken broth was added to the beans, (we had a lot of chicken broth since there are no more roosters in the backyard now), the pork had already been cooked and cubed, a bit of liquid smoke was added, a couple of cubed carrots, a handful of onions and a potato sliced real thin. Simmer until the potato has vanished, then the soup is done.

The chicken broth, pork, onion, carrots, sage and bay leaves are all food we get from the back yard. We bought the dry beans but they come in twenty five pound bags so they aren't all that expensive. Bought the liquid smoke and the salt.

Beans are an incomplete protein, if you add in cheese, then you have a complete protein.

[yukiko11]

The trick to beans is not to season them too soon. Salt will make them very tough and make it seem like they will never cook. I bring the beans to a boil for an hour then turn it down and start adding ingredients. Always leave the addition of salt until the end. If you are using smoked meats, they will add a lot of salt to the mix.
I don't soak my beans overnight, I just rinse them, put them in the pot with water to cover and add the magic ingredient. A 1/4 tsp of baking soda. This makes them very tender.
What to add? Bacon, smoked ham hocks, ham, smoked turkey drumsticks or wings, smoked kielbasa or other smoked sausage. Look for a recipe for Cassoulet which is oven cooked white beans with smoked sausage, and chicken.
What spices, definately cumin, it reinforces the smokey flavor, parsley or cilantro, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, chilies, garlic, shallots, peppers, onions, carrots tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper and salt.
Clean out your vegetable drawer and add chicken stock, canned tomatoes and everything else you have to make a great soup.
Try going from beans to vegetables like split peas. Use the recipe on the back of the package and add cumin, garlic, carrots and smoked ham hocks. A meal in a dish and delicious.
The more you cook dried beans and vegetables, the less gas you will have.

[PassTheChocolate]

For black beans, I add fresh chopped garlic and onions, 1 splash of olive oil, a bay leaf or two, a splash of vinegar and a splash of white wine, cumin, Goya Adobo and smoked ham of some sort. Goya's dried chorizo is also good with it.

[ECG]

I make beans sometimes..I make them mostly the Cuban way of making them...for instance when I make black beans I make them this way:

1 pound of black beans ( I wash them and take broken ones out and place them in a large pot filled with about 10 cups of water the night before..on the water I add 1 large pepper chopped up.

then the next morning I add to them a few table spoons of olive oil, I chopped onion 4 cloves of fresh garlic, 4 teaspoons of salt 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper about 1/4 teaspoon of oregano, 1 bay leaf...then I add also about 2 tablespoons of white vinegar...2 or 3 tablespoons of cooking wine.

I let it cook all day long until the beans are very soft and the liquids have evaporated to the consistency you want them to be...

You can eat them as soup or you can have them with white rice with some side meat, chicken or whatever dish.

You can use the same ingredients for any bean out there...with red ones you can add potatos if you want and some ham ...depending what you want!!

[TKramar]

for spices, how about cumin and garlic? maybe coriander?

[taurus430]

I was using a crock pot for beans but last time I used a pressure cooker. I soaked Pinto beans over night, drained, then in the pressure cooker for 10mins. I used them for pasta e fagoli, adding chopped onion, garlic, tomatoes, and of course ditalini pasta. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese. It really calls for Cannelini beans but I had pinto.

[jtur88]

If you don't have a pressure cooker, get one. Thirty minutes from a bag of dried beans to ready to eat.

[CaroleM]

This is how I cook beans: bring water to a boil, put in beans, turn off water. Let soak for about an hour. Drain 1/2 of the water. Add bacon, ham or ham hocks, either one of those will add flavor, garlic, little bit of onion chopped very fine, chicken broth, and little more water if needed, just to cover the beans. Salt and Pepper to taste. Then cook SLOW for a few hours.

[yhwhshalomjr]

Wash pintos in water, pick the rocks out,
Parboil your fav seasoning meat, smoked turkey, ham pieces, bacon,
put your small portion in a average sized bowl (?) cover with water
put them in the microwave for 10-15 minutes,(shortcut)
pour them into the pot with the parboiled meat, throw in onions, little garlic
a pinch of sugar( don't tell anybody)
and let them cook on medium-high for an hour
turn them down to simmer and put in your fav seasoning,
black pepper, adobo, beef or chicken bouillon, or can of bouillon and
let simmer for another 1/2 hour depending or whether you like the juice thick or thin
if it seems to thick add a little water.
Optional add green/bell peppers and dice sweet onion over rice or plain in a bowl with
whatever you please!1
Yum Yum

[gentlearts]

I love the taste of the beans. To me they taste "meaty". I just throw the soaked beans in water with a chopped onion and some kind of inexpensive smoked pork and let it simmer for the afternoon.
To me, it's soothing, earthy and simple..low fat too. Make some corn bread and you're done.