Looking to make this recipe tomorrow. Recipe doesn’t say anything about soaking beans over night. Is it assumed to let them soak, or do I cook them dried? Searched online to see if I could find an answer and couldn’t find anything definitive. Genuinely don’t know
by RogueOneWasOkay
7 Comments
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[https://www.seriouseats.com/baking-soda-brine-for-beans-5217841](https://www.seriouseats.com/baking-soda-brine-for-beans-5217841)
Don’t soak them. I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times following it as is and not soaking the beans and they always turned out great. I feel like I do have to cook them longer than the recommended time, but that might just be a temperature issue.
The last time I made them I soaked the beans cause I was planning on making something else and they did not turn out as well. Not nearly as creamy and had that chalky texture.
Soak with baking soda overnight and the cooking time will be shorter. If you don’t soak then it will just take longer. Overall cooking time depends on a few factors so you just have to taste them and make sure they are ready.
How old are your beans? If you don’t know for sure then I would use the baking soda/salt soak as others have commented.
Commercially produced beans in a supermarket in my experience are a lot older and drier than ideal. Ive had difficulty cooking even “easy to cook” beans like black beans from dried without soaking first. Too dry beans not only take longer to cook, but sometimes they just never get soft at all. Its a frustrating experience to be 4-5 hours in and realise your beans are just not going to cook. Sometimes they can be rescued by adding baking soda while cooking, but this alters the flavor. Better to just soak them and be sure they will cook.
Soaking is a choice. Beans can be challenging to get an exact time because it depends on factors like how old the beans are, the water you are using (pH, minerals, etc.), whether you are boiling them, etc. These factors make them trickier to give one “best” cooking technique for all kitchens. I prefer not to soak them. In my kitchen water I find it doesn’t have a big effect on cooking time, but increases the likelihood they will split and can change the texture. In my current kitchen, salting the water has minimal effect on cooking time, but in the last place I lived, it made a clear difference in shortening cooking time. For grocery store beans, soaking can also serve as a test. if they don’t plump and soften with a soak, they are going to be very hard to ever get them cooked and you are better off tossing them.
I know this is the serious eats sub, but for reference, Lisa Fain of the Homesick Texan does a pre-boil method which I found works really well for cooking beans – basically bring just your beans up to a boil, cook for 15 mins, then drain and add fresh the water and continue with cooking them as directed with your flavourings.
Rick Martinez also says not to soak beans in his cookbook Mi Cocina, as it results in water-logged beans.
I am personally on team no-soaking and it’s been fine for me, I do find my beans usually cook in about two and a half hours.
So your just trying to make really tasty refried beans? I have a recipe for you that is fool proof. Grew up eating delicious refried beans every other meal thanks to my moms side of the family.