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Dried Bean Failure

March 15th, 2011 at 10:59 pm

So I fail at making dried beans. This is my third time and I still can't get it right. The first time I soaked red beans overnight and nothing changed. So I soaked them through the next day and they still didn't change. I finally boiled them and finally there was a change. They were finally soft enough to eat, but they had no flavor, zero, zip. The second time I quick boiled both kidney beans and pinto beans. I added them to a chili which turned out great except that each bite of bean had no flavor, zero, zip. This final time I needed pinto beans for burritos. I boiled them for 5 minutes, then let them sit in the water for 4 hours. I then got new water and cooked them for 1 hour. I then threw the beans into a pan with a bunch of spices and mushed them. They have no flavor, zero, zip. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong!! I'm doing exactly what all the directions say to do. If I don't get this right soon, DH is going to finally get fed up with it all and stop the whole thing. Then we are back to buying canned beans from Costco. I've never failed this utterly in the kitchen before. What am I doing wrong!?

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Dried Bean Failure”

  1. melissalt Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 12:31 am 1300235498
    1300235498

    I used to have a ton of trouble with dried beans too. Now I soak them overnight and put them in a slow cooker the following day with a bay leaf, some minced garlic, and sometimes a little bit of onion. The first few times I made sure I was home to see how quickly the slow cooker worked, but once I figured that out I didn't have to do it again. Maybe that will work for you too.

    I now have all kinds of great beans in my freezer in cup portions for a fraction of the price of canned beans.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 12:55 am 1300236952
    1300236952

    That sounds like a great tip, melissalt! I think I'll have to try that. I'm not good with beans either.

  3. SnoopyCool Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 01:21 am 1300238495
    1300238495

    Not sure if this applies to you, but if beans are too old, they are nearly impossible to soften.

  4. My English Castle Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 02:24 am 1300242241
    1300242241

    I gave up on dried beans too, but maybe I'll try melissa's method.

  5. Thrifty Ray Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 03:51 am 1300247496
    1300247496

    You need to soak them, then cook them If you are used to the flavor of canned beans, those have a great deal of salt in them. There are tons of great recipes online. Garlic, onion, and a plethora of other seasonings can be added depending on your taste palette. You can do it!!!

  6. retire@50 Says:
    March 17th, 2011 at 07:17 am 1300346224
    1300346224

    I make dried beans all the time. Soak about 2 cups of beans overnight. Pour the water off the next morning and add a can of chicken broth or some chicken bouillion cubes. Add water until the level is about an inch over the beans. Cook 4 - 5 hours on high, cook 6 hours on low in a crockpot. Add about a tsp of salt after the beans are cooked and cook for another 1/2 hour to hour. Eat and enjoy. I live in a high altitude area so your beans may cook faster than mine do.

  7. baselle Says:
    April 12th, 2011 at 04:00 am 1302580822
    1302580822

    I second the comment about the age of the dried beans is important. If they are under a year old, its much easier. I soak beans in *warm water* (water that is pleasant on your hand) for an hour tops, boil them until starting to get soft, then add the salt. Frankly, I find that I don't have issues with salting them before they get cooked. The other issue is that beans are like a blank canvas - they really need something to make them interesting - salt, fat, meat, smoke, herbs, spices, sugar.

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