Can you please tell me how to prepare dried beans...Do you have any recipes?

Question

I would really like to start buying dried beans and peas. I would like to know how to prepare them. Have you ever done this? It would be more cost efficient than buying canned.

Any information would be appreciated. If you include any recipes can you make sure they are vegan? Thanks!

Answer 1

I soak them then drain them a few times a day for a few days, then I cook them in a big pot of water for soup.  Some things such as red lentils don't need soaking at all... they cook up almost instantly, while green lentils take forever to cook and need lots of soaking (soaking helps get the 'farts' out).

Answer 2

If you buy any dried product,it needs to be re-hydrated by adding water.So you would put beans,peas etc in a pot of water overnight.Then you could serve them all manner of ways.

Check out allrecipes .com   and type in your question.

Answer 3

You get more for money if you buy dry beans. I love pinto and black beans.

Because you are a vegan, I think you could use liquid smoke to give it that smoky taste ham or smoked would give you

.

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1 rib celery, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon chili powder

dash pepper

PREPARATION:

Wash beans well, pick over, and drain. Place in a large kettle and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and set aside for 1 hour. Drain the water and add fresh water to cover beans.

Cook until tender.

Answer 4

You have got a lot of good advice sofar, I'll just add a couple things.

- Look over the beans before soaking them, sometimes there will be a twig, rotten bean or small stone in the bag.

- Always dump out the water you soaked the beans in and add fresh water for cooking. This will make them less gassy in your tummy.

Answer 5

HOME CANNED BOSTON BAKED BEANS

Makes about 6 pints  

1 quart dried navy beans (about 2 pounds)

2 teaspoons salt (for soaking beans)

1/2 lb lean salt pork, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 onions, sliced

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2/3 cup molasses

This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

Cover beans with 3 quarts cold water and soak 12-18 hours in refrigerator or other cool place. Add 2 teaspoons salt to the soaking water. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat until skins begin to crack. Drain, saving the liquid.

Put the beans into a Crock-Pot or bean pot. Add pork and onions. Mix remaining ingredients together and stir into pot along with 4 cups of the liquid that the beans were cooked in. If you don't have enough liquid, add water to make 4 cups. Pour over the beans.

Cover and bake at 350°F for 3 1/2 hours. Add water, if needed, as the beans cook, to keep the beans "soupy".

Pack into hot canning jars leaving 1 inch of head space. Process pints 1 hour and 20 minutes, quarts 1 hour 35 minutes, at 10 lbs pressure (you might have to adjust for altitude).

NEW ENGLAND BAKED BEANS MADE IN A

CROCK POT  

1 lb. dry navy beans

Wash and pick over beans, removing any stones, broken beans, etc.

In a saucepan, cover beans with water (about 1 inch above top of beans). Simmer beans for 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.

Transfer to CrockPot, along with water they were cooked in. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

The next day add:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 additional cup water (if beans are dry)

4 tsp. dry mustard

4 tbsp. molasses

2 tablespoons ketchup (optional)

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1 large onion, sliced

onion powder, to taste (optional)

1/4-1/2 lb. salt pork

Mix ingredients (except for salt pork) and stir into beans. Slash salt pork in 1/2 inch slices nearly up to the rind, but not all the way through. Cut across the previous slices until the salt pork is deeply scored. Submerge salt pork in beans. A slice of hickory smoked bacon can be placed over the top of the beans.

Turn CrockPot on low setting. Cover and cook for 6 hours, or until beans are tender. If beans start to become dry during cooking, add a small amount of hot water.

When beans are tender, taste and adjust seasonings before serving. Slice up bits of the pork to add to each serving.

Traditionally, the cooking is begun on a Saturday night. Baked beans make for a leisurely Sunday lunch and can be served with good quality natural casing frankfurts or kielbasa.



CANNED DRIED BEANS OR SHELLED PEAS  

An average of 3/4 pounds per quart.

All varieties dried beans.

Select mature, dry seeds. Sort thoroughly through beans, discarding discolored, split, or otherwise imperfect seeds. Check carefully for stones or other foreign materials.

Place dried beans or peas in a large pot and cover with 2-3inches of water. Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain water and discard. To quickly hydrate beans, you may cover sorted and washed beans with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil two minutes, remove from heat, soak one hour and drain.

Cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt for pint jars or one teaspoon for quart jars directly in each jar, if desired (salt is not required).

Fill jars with beans or peas and cooking water (use a canning funnel to keep rims clean), leaving 1 inch of headspace. Beans should still be hot when filling jars. Remove bubbles of air from jar. Wipe jar rims clean using a damp paper towel.

Adjust lids and process Pints 75 minutes at 10 lb. pressure or Quarts for 90 minutes at 10 lb. pressure if using a weighted gauge pressure canner, or 11 lbs. pressure if using a dial gauge canner (same cooking times).

Note: Pressure may need to be adjusted if you are located at high altitudes. Check with your local USDA Extension Service for details of special requirements.



hope these help.                  good luck and enjoy.

Answer 6

Except for lentils and split peas, dried beans should be soaked overnight before cooking.  It helps dissolve the starches that are responsible for the, erm, side effects of eating beans.  Put them in a pot with plenty of water, cover and stick them in the fridge overnight (or all day while you're at work so they're ready to cook for dinner.)  After they've soaked, drain off the water and replace with plenty of fresh cold water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer with the lid slightly ajar until tender.  Add a teaspoon of salt towards the end (not sooner or it will make them tough.)  How long it will take depends on the variety of bean, but for the most part it will take 60-90 minutes.

Once you've made a big pot of beans, you can freeze in recipe-sized portions (a can of beans is about 1 3/4 c) and pull them out when you need them.  It's much cheaper than canned if you're willing to do the work, plus they end up lower in sodium than canned.

Answer 7

If you have a crock pot, you can simply cook the dried peas until they're soft and cooked through...If not, just boil them in some water until soft. Always keep boiling water on hand to add to the pot.

When soft, drain water. In a clean pot, add some olive or other cooking oil. Heat oil and add chopped onions and garlic. Stir and add a small bit of water, just enough to cook the seasonings. when most of the water has evaporated, add the cooked peas. cover with hot boiling water and add salt and other spices to taste. A bit of sugar towards the end of cooking adds a nice flavor.

If you like, you can add cubed pumpkin after adding the onion and garlic. cook for about five mins and then add the peas and continue cooking while adding spices and salt.

Peas such as black eye, lentils and black beans taste great if a little bit of coconut milk is added to the pot.

At least this is how we do it here in Trinidad, in the Caribbean.

Happy cooking

Answer 8

You have to soak them over night before cooking. I like to use red kidney beans in a tomato, chilli and rice meal. It's really simple: after you re-hydrate the beans over night, use some canned tomatoes, herbs n spices, chilli, fresh tomato, red kidney beans, fresh onions, some capsicum. Sautee them for a while then add rice and your good to go.

I also like the red kidney beans for tacos as meat subsistute. It's tastier than faux meats.