Stubborn beans

Forums: Beans, Cooking, Food, Recipes
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Remember that prime rib I had for leftovers? I used the bones to make a stock, heated it up and threw in some beans, the remaining meat, some sausage, some cajunish seasoning, etc.

I left the pan in the fridge for a couple of days because I wasn't ready to cook them.

Today I put the pot on, brought it to a boil, turned the heat down and let it cook for a couple of hours.

The beans were still hard.

So I turned the heat up and cooked the crap out of them for a couple of hours.

And the beans are STILL hard.

WTH is wrong with my beans? The should be cooked by now. I'm no stranger to beans but I am baffled.

The broth is yummy. Should I just strain out he beans and use the broth for something else? Are the beans a lost cause?

Thanks!

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Type: Question • Score: 10 • Views: 4,914 • Replies: 47

@boomerang,

Are you talking about green beans, boomerang?

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No, it's just a mix of dried beans -- red beans, white beans, black beans, maybe a few other varieties.

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The beans may well be a lost cause by now. Did you soak them overnight before cooking them? If not, it's hopeless. No matter what the package says, or what you read elsewhere, dried beans always need to soak at least overnight before they are cooked.

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@boomerang,

I've suffered never cooked bean syndrome in my past. It is related to too dry beans to start with, or some combo of that with your non soaking (best overnight, and with my old ones I can push them two days - even though there is a well known short cut re boiling and letting sit for x time.)

I solve this by soaking as I feel a sense of well being with beans soaking in my kitchen. Depends on the bean re the need for it.

Adds, I also rinse them every so often, just like lab dialysis.

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@boomerang,

if you used dried beans , did you remember to soak them overnight first ?
( and pour off the old water )

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@boomerang,

Dummy. when using dried beans in anything, make a bowlful of the dried beans . Then cover them with boiling water and let em steep for a half hour. Pour off any water and repeat. The beans will swell and soften. All you did was piss em off and make their skins really hard. They will eventually soften but will be mealy.

I like dried beans for use in chile cause they have a fine texture and flavor.

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@farmerman,

Big diff in texture and flavor with dried and canned beans, though I used canned sometimes.

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@boomerang,

Quote:

No, it's just a mix of dried beans -- red beans, white beans, black beans, maybe a few other varieties.

Ah. I see. But I don't need to tell you about soaking dried beans overnight before cooking, because I see others already have.

I was wondering what strange variety of green beans you might have been using! Laughing

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@farmerman,

I've been cooking dried beans without the overnight soaking these past several weeks. I've been cooking them in a slow cooker for about 5 to 6 hours on high.

Does it matter that they were black beans?

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@tsarstepan,

What you do with beans of other races is no business of mine. They are all HUMAN BEANS.

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You can also use the "quick boil for a few minutes & let em stand (covered) for a couple of hours" method, if an overnight soak wasn't possible.

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@tsarstepan,

Yeah, they are small and probably were fairly fresh. But - I just got a cheapo slow cooker just to try beans in it. Did you do any of the short boil tricks first?

Oddly, the beans most recalcitrant to my dulcet touch have been small white beans/navy beans. Little pellets of muscled resistance.

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@msolga,

Sounds like a bean soup package (don't get me going). Check that purveyor's website, boom.

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Like I said, I soaked the beans overnight in the broth. And yes, I did rinse them first.

I'm going to give them another night to rest, and try again tomorrow, but I agree they might be a lost cause.

I've cooked a lot of beans and have never had this problem. It is very frustrating.

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@boomerang,

Sorry, must have glanced over that. Maybe they needed two nights (my cranberry (borlotti) beans of some age did). I think I learned that the hard way.

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@boomerang,

How old were the beans you soaked, boomerang? Even though they'll keep for ages in air-tight containers, some become very tough over a long time. (Memo to self: label jars with dates of purchase.)

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It was a new bag. The little neighborhood grocery sells small bags -- just enough for a (big) pot of beans.

1 Reply

@boomerang,

The only thing I can think of is that you did the soaking in the fridge. I always soak my beans at room temp or with warm water. Maybe the cold soak wasn't a soak after all?

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@boomerang,

Maybe they'd been on the store shelves for a while, or had been bulk stored at a warehouse for too long, who knows?

I know this might not sound too wonderful a solution to your problem, boomer, but this is what I'd be tempted to do in your situation. To avoid boiling the crap out of everything else in the dish you're cooking, I'd extract the beans (using a big slotted spoon or something similar - messy, I know ..) & microwave them separately, within an inch of their lives! (I know some folk object to microwaves, but not me.)

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Stubborn beans

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