Cooked Dried Beans - Cooks Illustrated

"I was surprised that I couldn't find this recipe loaded into 'zaar. The amount of garlic appears substantial but try it and you'll find that your home-made beans are good as the canned. This recipe isn't complicated but it takes some pre-planning. The preparation and cooking times do not include the pre-soaking (4 hours or overnight) or the post-cooking resting period (15 minutes). Beans in liquid can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to 5 days."
 
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photo by averybird photo by averybird
photo by averybird
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
5
Yields:
3 cups
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Bring peas or bean, bay leaf, garlic, and water to simmer in large saucepan. Simmer, partially covered, until beans are just tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, stir in salt, cover, and let beans stand until completely tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Drain, reserve cooking liquid, and discard bay leaf and garlic.

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Reviews

  1. Another winner from Cook's Illustrated! These beans are so flavorful, the difference from canned beans is astounding. I also like how the beans completely soften but do not fall apart (i.e. the skin stays in tact). On the C.I. website there is an article called "Dried Beans 101" that mentions you can presoak the beans in a "brine" of 3 Tbsp salt to 4 Quarts of water overnight (then rinse thoroughly to remove any salt, and proceed with this recipe using fresh water). This helps to soften the beans if you have mineral-rich hard tap water. Not sure if there is a difference flavor-wise, but I used the brine and my beans came out great! Just thought I would pass that along. Thanks LaJuneBug!
     
  2. I first brined black soybeans as per Cook's Illustrated recipe, then cooked them all night on low in my slowcooker. I really liked the addition of garlic and bay leaves in the cooking water, but did not add the salt because the brining process flavours them.
     
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