Beans: Dump soak/boil water or cook in?

[jjdbike]

Hey folks,

I can't get enough beans. Protein, fiber, iron, antioxidants, perfect complement to barbecue, franks, cornbread etc..

I'm on a quest to get more flavorful, creamy beans. Most recipes would have you soak or quick boil beans, dump that water and rinse the beans before putting into pot with final ingredients. I wonder if in doing so, I'm dumping favor, thick creaminess and nutrition.

NOT TALKING ABOUT RED KIDNEY BEANS: I know about the danger of the toxins red kidneys contain.

Please talk to me about cooking them right in the water you soak or quick boil in. Pros & cons? What about not using pure water, but stock & seasonings to soak or prevail in to incorporate more flavor deeper into the beans?

Thoughts, experiences, cautions?

Respectfully,
JD

[LA Pork Butt]

Red kidney beans are the only ones we soak. In my opinion cooking beans in an instant pot/pressure cooker tends to make them creamier. Creaminess is more challenging in a crock pot.

[jjdbike]

Thanks LA,
I've heard that instapots do beans well, though I do not own one. I've already got too many kitchen gadgets and have run out of space for more.
Is there anyway to emulate that creaminess without the benefit of an instapot?
Respectfully,
JD

[Alan Brice]

Good ol fashioned pressure cooker. Personally I would dump n use stock on the second fill. The soak is to catch n remove dirt n stones that get past qual control.

[LA Pork Butt]

Growing up in New Orleans the tradition was that Monday was wash day and beans were for supper. My mother cooked hers in a pressure cooker, but the tradition was to put them on the stove and cook them all day. They come out pretty good that way, but that was for red beans. Other beans won’t take as long to cook, so you will need to adjust. Alan Brice adding stock or sausage or ham will improve the quality. Onions, garlic and Bell pepper help, too.

[grantgallagher]

i soak all beans and i use salt in the soak. i havent done the kind of side by sides kenji has but i also use the soak to cook. feel like you are just throwing away flavor if you dont

[hoovarmin]

Not trying to be funny here, but the creamiest beans are the GOYA Pink Beans, straight out of the can. We eat the hell out of those things.

[hoovarmin]

Johnny Booth the old recipe that used to be on the back of the Goya pink bean can is one we make at least once a month. It's fabulous. The one on there now is not nearly as good. They started making products they wanted to sell so they changed the recipe to include them.

[Jessterr]

hoovarmin, you wouldn’t be willing to send that old Goya recipe my way, would ya? Always looking for good bean recipes.

[hoovarmin]

@Jesster I'd be happy to!

[DavidNorcross]

We have always soaked beans as well. Not sure if this is right or wrong. However, I find that they cook better if they have been soaked, but this may just be me.

[CaptainMike]

You might want to check out Rancho Gordo beans, they have some very nice selections

[ofelles]

What he said! You will not be disappointed.

[Hulagn1971]

I've really been wanting to try those. Thanks for the reminder.

[klflowers]

I soak mine, but I don't use the soak water to cook them. I usually use stock.

[IowaGirl]

IMO, creaminess isn't strongly related to whether the beans are cooked in their soaking water versus draining off the soak water and cooking them in fresh water or stock. I've done it both ways and can't say I see a big difference.

A big part of creaminess comes from the type of bean you use. Black beans tend to be less creamy than, say, cranberry beans.

The age of the bean will also affect this -- younger beans can be very tender and creamy with no soak at all. Older beans can stay hard no matter what you do.

I second the suggestion to look at Rancho Gordo beans. They've not been sitting on the store shelf for ages and there are a lot of varieties to choose from.

Adding acidic ingredients at the start of a cook is a great way to ensure the beans stay hard. They should be added near the end of the cook when the beans are already tender.

I sometimes add aromatics and/or stock when cooking beans, especially if I know what dish I want to make. Sometimes I prefer to cook beans in plain water. Beans have a delicate flavor that becomes overshadowed by stock and aromatics. Sometimes I like just the beany flavor all on its own.

A pressure cooker (aka instant pot) gives good results faster than atmospheric cooking, but I also simmer beans in the oven and on the stove top with good results. Just takes longer.

I'm not a fan of a slow cooker for beans, if only that some types of beans need a hard boil for 10-15 minutes to deactivate toxic phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). A crock pot can't do that.

Don't assume this problem is limited just to red kidney beans: Although "...red kidney beans have the highest concentration of PHA, but white kidney beans and black (turtle) beans may also have high levels...." (https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs...r-kidney-beans) Since I can't measure the PHA level in my beans, my decision is to give beans a 10-15 minute boil regardless of type ... or use the pressure cooker which accomplishes the same thing.

[MsTwiggy]

+1 on not using a slow cooker

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Alway soak our beans

Black Beans & Lentils are favorites but Navy might be the creamiest....

[rickgregory]

https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-beans-cooking-soaking-water-good-or-bad

Long story short: For the best, creamiest, most flavorful beans, season your bean-soaking water with one tablespoon of kosher salt per quart (about 15 grams per liter), rinse the beans with fresh water before cooking, then add a pinch of salt to the cooking water as well.

There you have it from the Kenji himself.

[grantgallagher]

thats what i was referencing when i said i havent dont the side by sides he has. rancho gordo dont seem to be explicit in recommending one way or the other but it seems they err on no salt if you do soak, personally i think salt in a soak works better

[MsTwiggy]

Instant Pot all the way for life changing beans!!! No grandma, no problem. . . 2 cups water per cup
of beans. No soaking. Add you salt and seasonings and pressure cook on high for 1 hour. Prepare for the best beans ever. 🔥🔥🔥❤️🐿

[Sharhamm]

Do you use a quick or slow release in the IP?

[MsTwiggy]

Sharhamm when I cook beans for 1 hour on high pressure I use quick release. I think klflowers cooked his rancho gordo beans for 35 minutes and used natural release.

[klflowers]

Sharhamm I did 35 minutes with slow release. Still came out to around an hour total time.

[CMR2021]

I always soak my beans with salt and dump the water which for me really gets rid of the gas. It's not necessary and for some beans I think you would end up with much better broth if you just cooked it in the same water such as black beans. Also soaking will give you more even results across all the beans and really help with splitting.

I tend to use the pressure cooker these days for a pre-soak. Dump everything in and bring to high pressure for 1 min and then just let it come down naturally for 30 mins. For the quicker cooking beans like black beans they are almost ready to go at that point.

I've also found that first soaking and cooking them in distilled water really helps soften them up as my water tends to run on the hard side. This is really just a timesaver for me though as they soften up quicker.

[Smoked Transistors]

Watched this Pork Fat Refried Beans video from Leroy & Lewis last night. I have not made these beans but i have plenty of pork fat in the freezer and will be making them soon.

[Porkies]

I use the quick soak method, which has a soak to boiling - boil for a few minutes and then let soak for an hour in new water or stock. Then bring 'em to a boil with any additions, reduce to simmer until tender. I usually only cook pinto, navy, garbanza and split peas, so I don't worry much about the PHA stuff.

If I remember, I do the overnight soak. It's not often I remember.

[HotSun]

Quick soak works fine, in my experience.