I’m “Almost” A Member of The Cult!

[Panhead John]

Yahoo! I just received my order of Rancho Gordo beans today. I haven’t cooked any yet so I guess I won’t be a full fledged member of The RG Cult until I cook some and then rave about how good they are. These 4 packages of beans were almost $40 altogether! 😳 They better be good or I’ll expect a refund from you guys….🤓 Anyway, I expect to make a pot later this week and I have a few questions for the RG veterans in the group. The directions on each bag are all the same, no big deal, but the directions say that “a pre-soak of 2-6 hours will lessen the cook time.” Got it, that’s pretty normal. I rarely soak my beans first, so I’ve always used the 2 minute boil, then rest off heat for 1 hour method, before cooking…..this is for regular grocery store beans. RG says to boil 10-15 minutes then simmer for 1-3 hours till done. That’s a lot of time to NOT know when they’ll be done….1 hour, 2 hours or 3 hours? I like to have my beans done at the same time everything else is ready. So here’s my questions…….

1. If you soak your beans first, for how long? After soaking, and then starting your cook….10-15 minute boil and then simmer, how long does it usually take for them to be done? 1, 2 or 3 hours?

2. If you DO NOT soak them first, but do the 10-15 minute boil and then simmer……how long does it normally take for them to be done?

3. Do you save and re-use your soak water? I have always reused the soak or boiled water, finds it adds a little more flavor.


All of my bean cooks over the years have always been grocery store beans cooked like this….Boil for 2 minutes, rest off heat 1 hour, simmer for 2 hours….done! I just don’t wanna screw this up. Anyway, I’m going to do some red beans and rice this weekend using the Domingo Rojo’s. Can’t wait!

[barelfly]

I’m no expert with these, but I do soak the beans, usually during the day of the cook. I change out the water sometimes…sometimes I don’t. But I do the hard boil for about 15 minutes.

I cooked a pot of pinquitos on Friday and they were done in 2 hours with this method. All the RG beans I’ve cooked seem to be done in about 2 hours, even some that I had for a much longer time than I should have had them in the pantry.

Other’s have a much greater experience with these than I, but that’s how I cook my RGs

[Donw]

Interesting questions. I just pre soak for 3 hours and throw away the water.
When ready I cook the aromatics in the pot, toss in the beans, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling for a few minutes I turn it down and let it simmer for 90 minutes, occasionally stirring. Right around the 90 minute mark every bean I’ve cooked has been ready, or very close to ready.

[Panhead John]

Thanks Don!

[GolfGeezer]

+1 on this. I also will add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste for the pintos and piquitos. 2-2.5 hours for me.

[58limited]

I found that they cooked faster for me by soaking overnight.

[Oak Smoke]

I’m not an RG user but soaking overnight and throwing away the soak water have been my go to for store bought beans.

[58limited]

I rinse them well, soak overnight, and cook in the soak water.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Supposedly some RG varieties will try to start growing with too long of a soak. 1-4 hours supposedly is more than enough for most RG varieties? I don't soak at all except for the ones the facebook group mostly agree are must soak like the limas.

[wrgilb]

Check with Kathryn fzxdoc she's the Bean Queen. She helped me out alot.

[Spinaker]

* She is the Queen of many realms........she is also the PBC queen.

[LA Pork Butt]

I cook my Camellia Red Beans in an Instant Pot. I soak them for at least 6 hours and throw away the water. I usually use chicken stock to cook rather than water. Cook time in the Instant Pot goes from 40 minutes to 20 minutes with the soak and the liquid goes from 6 cups to 4 1/2 cups.

[Panhead John]

Yeah, I usually always use a couple of chicken bouillon cubes in my beans.

[Richard Chrz]

I soak over night in my refrigerator in bone broth I’ve made up.

[Richard Chrz]

Interesting note though. I purchased their Bean Book in a E-book format. He suggests not soaking,

[Panhead John]

Richard, does he give a reason why?

[Richard Chrz]

Hey Sent you a screen grab, rather than typing it out

[klflowers]

I don't usually soak mine anymore. And I've found that the cooking time depends on the bean. It seems like the cranberry beans take the longest. Most of the are just like the bag says though - 2-3 hours. Lately I have been using the instant pot. 45 min to an hour cook time, longer with the up to pressure and natural pressure release times added in.

I guess I don't really pay attention to the actual cook times in retrospect. I try to put them on early afternoon and when they are done they are done. So as usual I'm no help.

fzxdoc is the bean whisperer though. See if you can find any of her posts.

[Panhead John]

Yes, as usual you’re no help. I just skimmed through your response as I normally do. 😉 😆

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

if my bbq is done when it's done, I see no reason my beans can't be the same

[58limited]

" I’m “Almost” A Member of The Cult! "

One of us...One of us...

[Carolyn]

"Gooble Gobble"

[DaveD]

Kathryn has written clearly about undesireable stuff that ends up in the soaking water, and that it should be discarded as a result. I don't remember what the "stuff" was exactly but her info was good enough for me.

I've stopped soaking beans since switching to RG in any case. I do what Donw does - saute the aromatics (usually in some kind of smoked fat or grease), add the beans, cover with water to ~2 in depth, bring to a boil. I boil about 10 min, following the directions on the bag, then simmer. I'll get the oven set up at about 240-250 and put the pot (I always use a dutch oven) into the oven to hold the simmer temp without any burning on the bottom.

Cook times are very close to 2 hours for me total, maybe a bit more or less from one type of beans to the next.

Looking forward to your impressions!

[Alan Brice]

Depends on the type of bean. Some will stay firm, that is their nature.
I hard boil,(InstaPot), 15 min. Add cooked trilogy n protein (opt). Begin serving after two or three hours. Turn InstaPot to Slow Cook n it will dial up 12hrs slow cook. Taste test, add moisture (opt), chicken stock or water, throughout the day. Tupperware when they suit you. That night or the next day. Yumm
Excellent for well over a week, if they last that long.

[Spinaker]

What kinda sweat suits do y'all wear?

[lemayp]

So the consensus is, soak or don’t soak, use the soaking water or not, hard boil and simmer until done. Aromatics may be sautéed first or added after. can be done in instant pot , stovetop, or oven. Simple enough for ya?

I still can’t figured out the secret hand shake so good luck!

[Panhead John]

We’re supposed to have a meeting soon, hopefully they’ll teach me the secret handshake.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

The 4 ya got there, I don't soak (well I haven't cooked the GMS beans yet, but I have some!). I boil for 10ish minutes then simmer, they're done when they are done... BUT you can just take 'em to nearly done and then drop from a simmer to warm until it's eatin' time.

I've also lately been using the instant pot the night before. I'll do 1 cycle of the bean program, fast release then check the beans, if they are as soft as I want (not done, but on their way to done) I'll chuck in the salt and other stuff and then put on the low slow cook setting for up to 24 hours. Some beans take 2 cycles of the standard bean setting on the IP I find (like some of the limas or chick peas).

[Alan Brice]

I believe there is a camp that does not use the soak water. It may be specific to red beans(kidney) because of lectins released into the soak water. I do not have the specific deets on this. I use my soak water, prolly cause I am a cheap bastige.

[Richard Chrz]

I use it too, my soak water is generally a really nice bone stock I had made up. I just dump the entire soak and beans, then add more stock.

With that being said, I want to try it without soaking (medium to smaller beans), I picked up their bean book in an e book format, and he suggests not soaking. I kind of now need to know what the difference is.

[Alan Brice]

Depends how long your entire cook will be. I believe not soaking yields a firmer end bean.