If you haven’t tried your hand at cookingdifferent kinds of dried beans because you were a little iffy onhow to do it correctly, you’ll be happyto know that it’s easier than you think. Other than the fact that it takes a little bit of time, there’s nothing difficult or tricky about it, and cooking dried beans doesn’t require extensive cooking skills. In fact, it’s pretty hard to get it wrong. As long as the beans staysubmerged in water or brothwhile cooking, and you can keep a pot simmering on the stove for an hour or two (or in aslow cooker), you’re doing great. Read on forall the details; we’re going to show you how simple it actually is.
Rinsing & Sorting
Rinsingand sorting beans istheinitial step in cooking dried beans. This simply involvesrinsingyour beans, peas or lentils in a colander or strainer to get rid of field dust and dirt, and then sorting – moving them aroundwith your hands to removeany stray pebbles, twigs or imperfect beans. Here at Camellia, we have an extensive cleaning process before we package our beans, so it’s a rare occurrence that you’ll find anything like that–butstill, rinse and sort. It only takes a minute or two.
Soaking
Many saydried beans should always be soaked, becausesoaking makes beanscook faster and reducestheirgas-producing properties. It’s true that ifyou soak your beans, your cooking time will decrease slightly — but by how much really depends on the bean type; sometimes it’s just a matter of cutting 15 minutes off, sometimes it’s more. What’s important to knowis that along, low simmer will soften any kind of bean, given enough time.
Basic Soaking Tips:
- Here are three different ways you can soak beans – from a 1-hour quick soak to an overnight soak.
- Ifyou have the time for a longer simmer, then soaking isn’t necessary.
- Lentils,split peas and blackeye peas don’t need to be soaked. Simply put, they’resmaller, softer legumes and cook muchfaster.
Read more about the pros, cons, myths and more related to soaking.
Salting
Many say dried beans shouldn’t be salted at the beginningofcooking because ittoughens their skins andincreases cooking time. But a growing number of people disagree and say salting early on or anytime during the cooking process is fine. Learn more about the pros, cons, myths and more related to salting.
It’s worth noting that ifyou’re using a recipe relyingon seasoning meats for flavor (seasoning meats can be pretty salty), it’s best to wait till the beans are finished cooking before tasting and adding more salt. You might just find that noneis needed.
Cooking
If you’re looking to cook beans to use in other recipes, it’s a simple process. After rinsing (and, if you choose, soaking) beans, add toa stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender. Salt the beans ifyou like, and add more water as necessary, in order to keep the beans submerged. Depending on the type of bean, cookingtime will vary. Try these simplerecipes for cooking beans ahead of time to use in other recipes:Easy Make-Ahead Black Beans and Easy Make-Ahead Pinto Beans.
If you want to cooka pot of beans that’s seasoned to perfection and makes a great meal all on its own, check out our easy-to-follow, delicious recipes– each one details the beans, veggies, seasonings,cooking process and moreneeded. If you’re just starting out, simple recipes likeLH’s Savory Lentils,Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice, and Marjorie’s Marvelous Large Lima Beansare great ways to get comfortable cooking beans. And another easy way to try your hand at cooking different bean types is with ourline of .With each one, you just add a few fresh ingredients, and simmer on the stove or in your slow cooker. The mixes include seasoning packs, and the recipes are right on the bags.
If you’re an aviduser of dried beans and are interested inexperimenting, you can learn more about how to tweak the basic components of any dried bean recipe. You might beinterested in trying differentseasoning meats to add depth and flavor during the cooking process –such as withandouille, hambones, ham hocks, or pickled pork. For more variation, you might also try differentherbs and spices, various types offlavorful fats, or a new combination ofaromatic vegetables. Here are some secrets to great-tastingvegetarian beans. Have at it and get creative. It bears repeating that you can’t really screw up a pot of beans. The more you cook, and the more you trydifferent cooking and flavoringtechniques, you’ll discoverwhat you like best and either keep doing it, or tweak it. Want to know the secret ingredients to Camellia fans’ red beans and rice? We’ve gotthat, too.
Cooking Methods
And finally, know that all cooking methods at your disposal are fair game and will result in wonderfully flavorful, tender beans.
Stovetop
Some people prefer cooking on a stovetopat a slow simmer. With stovetop cooking, you need a large, heavy pot; a heavy-bottomed pot keeps beans from burning and reduces the need for regular stirring. You also need to be able to keep an eye on your slowly simmering pot of beans, and that can makeit a little more time-consuming; however, stovetop cooking gives youthe flexibility of adding aromatic veggies, seasoning meat and spices in stages, stirring every so often, mashing beans to create creaminess, and tasting and adjusting seasoning as you go. If you don’t have the time to do that on weekdays, Sunday afternoons are great for slow-simmering stovetop recipes – and are excellentfor achievingdeep flavors and a creamy texture.
Slow Cooker
Some love the total ease and convenience of slow cookerrecipes. A slow cookergivesyou the freedom to beable to throw all the ingredients in, set the timer, and go about your day. Itcan be a bigtime-saver for busy families who want to come home to a warm dinner ready to be served, and even though some slow cooker recipes require a little upfront prep, they’re mostly hands-off. While slow cookers don’t allow for the nuances oftasting and adjusting seasoning during the cooking process (they need to stay covered with their lids on for even, thorough cooking), you can always adjust seasonings and mash beans for creaminesswhen the cooking time is over.
Pressure Cooker
And finally, there’s the pure speed of a pressure cooker. If you prefer to make dinner in 30 minutes or less, the intense heat and pressure of a pressure cooker is the way to go with dried beans.They’ll still come outtender and flavorful and allow you to drastically reduce your cooking time.Pressure cookers have been around for decades, but modern technology makesthem faster and safer than ever before.Get some tips and tricks onhow to use a pressure cooker to safelycookbeans. If you already own and use apressure cooker regularly, try it out for cooking beans. If you don’t own one but think you’d use it often, then it might just be worth the investment of this additional appliance. Check out ourpressure cooker recipes here.
Storing
Cooked beans will keep up to a week in the fridge and even becomemore flavorful a day or two after cooking. So if you’ve got leftovers from a delicious one-pot dinner, either freeze for afuture meal, or stick them in the fridge and pack a lunch for school or the office later in the week. Or,if you’ve cooked a simple pot ofbeans ahead of time to use in otherrecipes, portion them into small storage bags, lay them flat on their side and stack to store in the freezer. Then, when you need beansfor a recipe,just grab them from the freezer instead of reaching for a can.
Inexpensive and a greatsource of protein and fiber, dried beans are one of the world’s perfect foods and are just waiting for you to get cooking.
