Cooking Black Beans...

[PinkPanther]

Has anyone ever bought the bag black beans and cooked them at home? I thought that I would save some $$ and get the bag instead of a couple cans of them, but cooking them is a total pain. The first time, I didn't soak them and boiled them for like an hour and they were still hard. This time, I soaked them for like two days (because I forgot about them after day 1) and then I boiled them, still for like an hour, and finally they were soft. However, they are really dry. Anyone have any suggestions for cooking these stupid things, or how to make them taste better??
Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated...

Thanks!!
PinkPanther

 

[rnch]

red beans 'n rice is a local tradition here in nawlinz........i cook red bean in a crock pot for at least 12 hours on the low setting. they come out soft and creamy this way, with lots of gravy. i assume this would also work on black beans.

 

[PinkPanther]

Thanks a lot! I will for sure try that...anything has to beat what I have now!

 

[obiwan9962]

hey pp when you soak em add alittle flour to the water and don't forget em or you'll have black bean wine
drain em rinse em and toss in pot


then when you cook them do not add salt til much much later like when you drain them the skins get really tough

and as for cooking them bring to a boil then let is simmer for 3-4 hours

slow cooker works great

in jamaica we used pigeon peas sorta like green and brown kidney beans for our "peas" and rice
secret ingredient is coconut milk
damn fine
miss it

 

[ChefWide]

Excellent advice from Obiwan (as usual)

If you are in a hurry, add a tablespoon of baking powder to every gallon of water you are soaking the beans in: it helps to breakdown the non-nutrient dense cellulose fiber of the seed coat and lets the moisture penetrate faster.

When in the shits the boys used to take the dry beans and double cover them with cold water, bring to a simmer and remove from the heat, then stir in the baking powder. That used to reduce the soaking time from overnight to about 3-4 hours, a big help if you need them in a hurry.

Also pay serious attention to Obiwans advice about lowering the boil down to a simmer, they should be barely bubbling, much hotter than that will give you unevenly cooked beans and will blow the jackets right off. If you have the time and want to get deep into it, cook the beans in whatever stock is appropriate, rather than plain water and salt.