How to Cook Dried Beans
Dried pinto beans getting ready to soak. I keep them in mason jars to help keep them from getting stale too quickly.
Ingredients:
2 c dried beans, shown is pinto
1 tsp baking soda
4 c filtered water
1 tbsp kosher salt
How to cook your dried beans:
Place beans in a big bowl or container that has enough volume for the beans to expand while soaking. I tend to use a container that has 5x the volume. Add 1/2 tsp baking soda and filtered water to the container with the beans. Gently stir to dissolve baking soda. I let soak for a minimum of 24 hours in your refrigerator. If you go longer than 24 ours, drain and replace soaking liquid for each 24 hours. For example, if they soak for 48 hours, you will need to drain, rinse and add fresh water to the beans. No need to add more baking soda each time.
I put together a sachet d’epices. Meaning, I put dried herbs, peppercorns, clove and bay leaves in some cheese cloth that gets tied off with some butchers twine. Leave a big enough lead on the twine so you can tie it to the handle of your cooking pot.
Choose a cooking pot that has minimum 5 x the volume as the beans. I use a 4-1 ratio water to beans. Once your sachet is tied in place, turn on the heat, add 1/2 tsp remainder baking soda and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to a very gentle simmer and cover with a lid. This will simmer for minimum 1 hour. Keep an eye on your beans and how the water is simmering. If it gets to rapid, you can break the beans apart. Not enough of a simmer and they will just be soaking in hot water which won’t cook them.
Once beans are cooked thoroughly, turn off the heat. Add your salt to the water, gently stir and cover with lid once again. I let the beans soak in the salted water until they cool for 30 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water.
Your cooked beans are now ready to use! Put them in salads, burritos, and even make refried beans. These will stay good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Be creative and enjoy.
-Logan
