Is It Really This Easy to Cook Dried Beans? (ingredients, hamburger, undercooked)

[jazzcat22]

For years I shied away from cooking dried beans---used cans. Decided I wanted to make my own (avoid sodium and BPA from cans, possibly save money---not 100% sure the dried beans are cheaper). Had heard that it took forever to cook beans. ??????

Have now made pinto, kidney, and today, black eyed peas. They cook up much more quickly than the cooking directions on the bags indicate. Today I did the quick soak method for black eyed peas. Boiled them for 2 minutes. Sat for an hour (actually more like 40 minutes). After the quick soak, they are supposed to be cooked 1/5 to 2 hours---but they are almost soft enough without further cooking them, just after the quick soak.

Am I doing something wrong? Should they took longer? I'm next going to try dried chickpeas, which I hear take forever to cook.

[OpenD]

I've used the quick soak method for years when I didn't plan far enough ahead to use an overnight soak. I think the results are fine as far as taste and texture.

The main difference is that when you soak longer and rinse and drain well before a long cooking the beans are less likely to cause people gas, because it helps remove raffinose, an indigestible carbohydrate in beans that causes gas and bloating.

[Dirt Grinder]

I have to use the long cooking method in my recipes (red beans and rice, Boston baked beans, Brazilian bean stew, etc.) not so much because of the beans themselves, but because I need to render the full flavor of the other ingredients and to get the "creaminess" of the dish just right.

[nmnita]

I still prefer the long cook method, but it really isn't any problem. I do not soak them overnight, but just for a very short time. I like to use my crock pot...This works for almost any type of dried beans and you can control the adatives which is one reason I use them, price is the other. They go so far and are so much less expensive. I do keep cans of beans around for emergancies, just like I keep packaged potatoes.

Yesterday we were out all day, from 8am to about 3pm,doctors appointments, Aldis shopping, lunch,Sam's etc. By the time I got home I was tired and no idea about dinner. That is when the Betty Crocker potatoes tasted just fine. I won't do that again for maybe 6 months, but am glad I had them plus some ground chuch for hamburger patties.

[Ohiogirl81]

I dunno, it always takes much longer than advertised for me to cook beans. And there's not much worse than undercooked beans.

What I need to do is cook them and can them myself. That way they'll always be at the ready, but without the plastic can lining and added ingredients.

[eofelis]

I cook dried chick peas (garbanzo beans) quite a lot.
I soak them overnight and then simmer for a couple hours. I don't keep track of time. I cook them til they are done.

I cook up large amounts at a time and then freeze them in small amounts to use later.

I do this with kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans also. I always have many containers of already cooked beans in the freezer, ready to use. (I do this with many other foods too.)

I've been keeping an eye out for beans on sale. Last fall Albertsons had 1lb bags of garbanzo beans and kidney beans on sale for $1 each. I bought a lot! (25 lbs). I'm almost out of the garbanzo beans now. But I just noticed that Sprouts has dry garbanzo beans for 99c/lb this week. I'll be buying a lot.

Stock up when things are on sale!

[High_Plains_Retired]

I only cook pintos but I always soak my beans overnight. Then I cook them in a large covered pot with a large ham bone, chopped ham, chopped onions and salted to taste. Add chopped jalapeños while cooking, if you want to spice up the flavor. I also add one medium size potato to the pot during cooking and that seems to remove much of the gas.

Served with a pan of hot buttered Texas cornbread and iced tea it's not the quickest meal but man is it a good one.

[Emeraldmaiden]

Beans are really that easy!

I use mostly black beans, pintos, or great northern beans, and usually soak overnight. In chili, I use the black beans. Pintos are either for chili or refried beans (done in the crockpot), and great northern beans are for soup, like the bean & bacon I made yesterday. I have yet to cook dried garbanzos, but they are on the radar.

[Moonlady]

I've heard that the older the beans are, the longer they take to cook. Finding fresher dried beans is hard though because you can't really tell how old they are. I almost always use the long method soaking them overnight, but I've found that some beans, like pintos and black eyeds don't take as long and work well with the quick method. I've also tried quick cooking them in a pressure cooker but they don't have the same flavor as the longer cooking methods. I usually put some bacon in with them or ham hocks if I have them.

The best beans I have cooked are some my niece sent me from Dove Creek, CO - the pinto bean capital of the world - or at least the US. They recommend not adding any flavoring until the last hour, but I still like to add onions and celery at the beginning.

[Happy in Wyoming]

I live at 5500' so my situation is somewhat different. I soak my beans for 25-30 hours at which point they will have become plump and moist. Then an hour or two gives me either the start of bean soup or baked beans. When I lived in Colorado at 8400', however, the only practical method was to use a pressure cooker. At some point, depending upon the beans, between 8400' and 10,000' it become impossible to cook most legumes without a pressure cooker.

One of my aunts used to cook wonderful baked beans but she would never share the recipe, saying that it was in her will. It wasn't. The beans stuck to gether in gobs and had a wonderful sweet flavor combined with the savory. They were a medium brown in color. If anyone should have such a recipe I'd be eternally grateful. I've tried to duplicate it for years without success.