After reading some of the awesome comments, I tried soaking the beans in salt water, rinsing well and then cooking forever.
Smooth and Creamy and YUMMY!!!
My original post:
I won't finish the song for you!!!
I started out trying to save money by buying canned beans. BIG BIG mistake. For the past bazillion years I've been trying to make my home cooked beans taste like canned beans. Honestly I think I'd have to pressure cook them in order to get the same texture.
However, last time I made them, I tried the crock pot (again!) and I cooked them FOREVER and a day. They were much better! Here are my tips so far. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Cooking Dried Beans
Ingredients:
1 bag of beans (I believe it's 1 pound - I haven't found a lot of savings by buying a huge bag)
Water
Crock pot
- Empty bag of beans into a colander looking for dirt clumps. Yes, I've seen a few.
- Rinse the beans.
- Put the beans in a pan and add a LOT of cold water (see directions on the bag). Soak overnight.
- Drain beans. Repeat Step #3 (supposed to help with digestion - for years I only soaked one night and we are still alive).
- Drain beans.
- Put beans in a big ole crock pot and cover with cold water.
- DO NOT ADD SALT!!!
- Let cook on high for a few hours, low for a lot more hours. Don't you love my directions?
- When beans are really soft you can add seasonings. I usually dump out some of the water and add a lot of salt.
Here's a Chicken and Bean recipe and a Refried Bean recipe.
This amazing :-) recipe has been linked to the Grocery Cart Challenge.
I have found the same thing. I soak my beans overnight in the crock pot and the next day after rinsing, cook them on low all day. About 8 hours seems great
ReplyDeleteI saw a tip on America's Test Kitchen where you add salt to the soaking water and then rinse really well before you add the cooking water. I do this every time. It makes the beans creamier like the canned kind.
ReplyDeleteI make a crock pot full of beans at least once a week. Here's what I do:
ReplyDeleteI use a 2 pound bag of dried pinto beans.
*Sort beans(yes, there IS dirt clots in there!)
*Cover with water by several inches
*Add 1/2 c. vinegar and stir around to incorporate(really helps with the gas problem)
*Soak for 24 hours(not necessary, but again, helps eliminate gas)
*Drain and rinse
*Put beans back into the crock pot
*Add water(a couple of inches above the beans)
*ADD SALT(this works much better for me than waiting until after the cooking process)
*Turn crock pot on HIGH and cook for 12 hours...YES, 12 hours(I generally cook overnight)
These turn out great everytime. Also, these too turn out "creamy". They are awesome!!!
Melinda
I have heard so many times not to add salt until you are done.
ReplyDeleteUGGG! so many different rules and I want creamy beans.
I'll have to give these a shot!
It may be a wives tale, but I have heard you will have more trouble getting soft beans if you have hard water. They suggested you buy distilled water if this is the case.
ReplyDeleteI recently learned the lesson of not seasoning the beans until after they are softened. I don't understand why it keeps them from softening but it sure makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteWe have extremely hard water here, but after I cooked them to death they seemed okay. Strange!!
ReplyDelete