Cautionary (good) note about cooking RG beans

[Mosca]

I am about a month or so in to a deep dive, and I’m hooked hard. I know there are a lot of people who already know this; I’m writing to save some other folks a little bit of head scratching.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when the world isn’t writing recipes for canned beans, it writes them for supermarket beans. Rancho Gordo beans don’t act like supermarket beans, though. They don’t need to be soaked overnight. And they cook much faster. I just did a recipe that says, I quote, “Sort the beans and put them in a pressure cooker with 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 12 minutes and then quick release. At this point they should be "al dente" so if they are not, simmer them for a bit longer until they are. Then set aside.” 12 minutes of RG beans in the IP did not give me al dente beans. It gave me black bean mush!

I’d thought about this. I actually put off making the soup for a day to consider it, thinking I’d be better off just making the beans by simmering. But I decided what the heck, y’know?

In the end it’s just a textural issue, and the soup tastes fine. It looks like mud, but it’s bean soup, and sometimes bean soup looks like mud. I wanted discreet beans, but knowledge doesn’t come free. Take into consideration that RG is shipping a product that is fresher, and that heirloom foods are by nature less durable than commodity foods.

That’s it. It’s like the difference between heirloom tomatoes and “tomatoes on the vine” except with beans. They’re going to take a little more care, but leave you with a more rewarding experience that is worth it.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

yep, I always try to find RG specific recipes before cooking. I rinse and rarely (if ever) soak them.

[fzxdoc]

For me, lot depends on the age of the beans and the size when I choose a pressure cooking time. Plus I cook at (medium) high altitude of 3700ft, which plays a part .

The last time I made Midnight Blacks in my Instant Pot, I did them on High for 45 min with NPR for a black bean salad. They were "toothy" as opposed to "creamy", which is what I like for a salad. They were 1.5 years old--that is, 1.5 years since purchase from RG.

Edited to add: The only RG bean variety that I overcooked were their Super Lucky Black Eyed Peas which I actually forgot about for a few hours, so they went through NPR and into the Stay Warm cycle. I usually do immediate pressure release for Black Eyed Peas, so that was a goof up on my part. I actually did mash them into their broth and used it in 1 cup portions to thicken soups and stews.

Kathryn

[STEbbq]

Huskee what do you know?

[Cowboy Pepper]

Nice. Thanks for the info. I am also up around your altitude.

[Huskee]

STEbbq First I thought you were asking me about beans. I was gonna say "Put 'em in your chili!" We never prune any topic at all, unless a conversation has gone south and the topics or individual posts need deleted for rules violations. I only remember a time or two a specific topic went haywire and therefore belly-up, it's is not often at all. A What Are You Drikning Now? topic and I believe a Road Webers topic had that happen, but I believe that's it.

[Smoker_Boy]

This is why I don't live in California.
RG beans, canned beans, supermarket beans.
And I thought math was hard.

[ofelles]

ecowper Hey wait a minute some of us are dumb enough to live in CA 🙃

[ecowper]

ofelles I am a native Californian. Born at Sutter Memorial in Sacramento. Then I went other places :-)

[GolfGeezer]

Thanks for leaving me a very nice ocean view in wonderful community here in SoCal. 😎

[Jessterr]

Very interesting topic for me, for a couple of reasons. First, I recently made the decision to head down the dried bean road, focusing primarily on the use of RG beans based on the rabid input here on the board, and accordingly have since splurged on a good sized collection of various RG beans now occupying space in the pantry. Secondly, my sister bought me an Instant Pot for Christmas to cook them in. Problem is, I’m scared to use the IP primarily because of the issue cited above, i.e., worried about creating just mush or some other inedible concoction using expensive beans. Guess it’s time to just dive in, though. Any suggestions on IP cook times for some of RG’s various bean types? I do live at sea level, have seen comments that elevation may make a difference?

[Mosca]

I’m going to defer to those who have done it more than once!

[Alan Brice]

7-8 bucks for a pound of those delectable lil gems? Add a rack of smoked wibs or leftover pulled insert your particulars. Or just some celery, onion, garlic, carrot n your fav peppers, hot or not. I have found my manna from the Gods. Thank you fzxdoc

[Jessterr]

Actually, I just noticed that there is a concurrent thread going on that addresses basically my same questions above. Sorry, folks.

[fzxdoc]

No worries. Start with any kidney bean-sized bean, and IP on High for 20 minutes with maybe a 15 minute (after finishing) pressure release. See what you've got. If they're not cooked enough, just flip on the Saute function on low and continue to cook those beans until they're just right for your tastes. That's how I started. Now I'm up to an average of 45 to 55 minutes with Natural Pressure Release (when the lid lock releases by itself). YMMV depending on bean size, age, and your altitude.

K.

[Cowboy Pepper]

All great to know. I buy supermarket beans as I can get 5lbs. for under 4$. Looked at the RG site and have to say that $6.25 for a pound of pintos is just so far out of my range. I pay my rent and have about $350 for all my other bills. I always soak overnight and cook in an Instant Pot, hopefully with some left over bones, for about 55 minutes. Sometimes I have onions and garlic, sometimes just granulated. Pretty much always with Mexican oregano, bay leaves and some rosemary, salt and #14 mesh. pepper. Sometimes some masa flower or a couple of corn tortillas.

[Jessterr]

Ditto, Cowboy Pepper.

[Cowboy Pepper]

Thanks, gents. I should add, no salt until the beans are cooked.

[fzxdoc]

Toss a smoked ham hock in there, and you'll be in Bean Heaven.

K.

[acorgihouse]

Just letting people know, if they are interested, RG has Soup of the Day in February. If you follow them on any social media, you'll see the recipes, or I'm assuming they prob have on their website. Today is https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/re...vtk9hnOuVwEM9k

[Murdy]

Love me some bean mush, or pea mush, or lentil mush.

[acorgihouse]

Bean soup, in my dad's old fishing Thermos, has sustained me through many awful workdays.

[fzxdoc]

That soup must taste extra good, acorgihouse , in that thermos. Nice story.

K.

[yakima]

IMO, most of the issues here are generated by forcing an Instant Pot as a sub for a Mixteca traditional bean pot. You can look, taste, adjust, without dealing with a nuclear reactor. IMextraHO.

Heritage beans, heritage pot.
GMO, RoundUp ready, IP.!!

Showing myself out.

[fzxdoc]

With clay pot cookery, there's a problem for those of us who do not cook on a gas stove. On a ceramic cooktop with a clay pot, the explosion might not be thermonuclear, but it will still make one heckuva mess. 😫😉

I have an outdoor gas range that I use for non-IP bean cooking in my more indigenous pot when the weather is nicer. In my house the clay pot is the toy; the IP is the workhorse. We each dance to our own tune. It's just good that we're dancing!

K.

[yakima]

East Coasters are ultimate rationalizers. Even when up late!