The beauty and the curse of all these different varieties of beans is they all cook differently. It’s trial & error and as you can see everyone has their own method. Sometimes I can get away with a quick hard boil then soak for an hour. But the Caballeros are notoriously hard, long cooking beans. I lose track of how many hours (2.5-3 maybe), especially because I try to always simmer beans, never boil. If you have a pressure cooker or Instapot by all means use it. The general rule I use is when they are still uncooked but starting to get soft I add the salty stuff like stock, salted meats, then try to let them cook for another hour to meld the flavors then salt the last 30 minutes. But like @Lambchop says it’s okay if you put salty pork in early. For faster cooking beans (alubia blanca, blackeyed, lentils) you can dump it all in at the beginning. I add a skosh of red wine vinegar at the end. Sounds weird but it doesn’t make them tart, just brightens them.
Thanks for posting the waitlist! You’re right, they always seem to come back. I don’t see the Caballero Beans on the list, but I once emailed them about it and this is normal. If they know they won’t have something for a long while they won’t even list them as “sold out”. That was the last bag I’d been hoarding.
I knew someone was going to throw Kenji at me, lol. I have absolutely nothing against salting beans in the beginning or using instapots or pressure cookers or sunspots or anything else they want. It’s all great. But for some reason no matter what I say (write) it never fails, someone always wants to “educate” me. I’ve been making beans for years and have tried every way. This is my method - long, slow, no pressure cooker, no instapot and I do not put salt in my beans until they are soft. Gasp! Seriously, the skins are tender, they don’t split and the broth is savory, silky & delicious.
P.S. Steve Sando doesn’t salt his beans early either, so neener, neener…
You liking to cook them that way is perfect, and your beans are obviously very good because you keep liking them. It’s the advice that they might not turn out as well with salt that’s garbage. They obviously turn out great with salt - arguably better or not better, but most definitely not worse or wrong. The argument was that there was a technical reason why salting beans early would ruin them. That technical reason was imaginary. (I’m not saying you personally said that, just that that was the source of the myth in the first place.)
This devoted bean eater wholeheartedly agrees with this statement.
2 Likes
ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
373
Last night I made boneless pork loin “ribs” with @gracieggg’s tamarind marinade and veggie mie goreng. It was tasty but for whatever reason the kiddo had a hard time with it. He kept saying the pork tasted like shrimp (a food he refuses), so he must have picked up on the fish sauce. Not bad for a 3-yo palate!
Yum! Yes, our kid has a major aversion to fish sauce too so I need to be careful with how heavy my hand is when I use it too. I like the sound of your dessert too!
We’ve been dialoguing for all of 5 days. I think that qualifies you as some one who knows me pretty well. What’s my reason? What advice did I receive? What’s my experience?
Right? I’m used to it. That’s why I wrote “I’ve heard all the arguments”. It happens every time. Someone always goes off the rails and starts posting things, linking things and insulting me, like my method of cooking beans is an affront to mankind.
ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
378
Tonight I made rigatoni with Marcella Hazan’s tomato-onion-butter sauce, tossed with roasted eggplant, sweet Italian sausage browned separately, a dollop of ricotta, and a dusting of Pecorino Romano. It was pretty tasty! I added red pepper flake at the table. Green salad with orange vinaigrette alongside.
Thought I was going to feed my belly and freezer with some beef stew tonight, but the day got brighter and I wanted something brighter for dinner.
An upstairs freezer dive and pull brought out some Plum Ketchup I had made in the summer, and it pairs nicely with pork, so the 4-pack of pork tenderloins I got at BJs Wholesale Club today helped my dinner decision. And fed my freezer with more pork tenderloins.
A single pork tenderloin was seasoned with olive oil, s/p and thyme and seared in a hot pan. Into a 350° oven with some of the plum ketchup on top to finish cooking to 140°.
Israeli couscous was cooked in pork stock with minced onions, s/p, and dried thyme, and green beans were steamed. Wine was poured, dinner was served.
Marinated overnight, seared in the CI and topped w/a sauce of Worcestershire, Rancho Gordo Chipotle Salsa & Red Balsamic Vinegar, then rested and sprinkled w/Maldon Smoked Salt.
Sometimes I can get away with a quick hard boil then soak for an hour. But the Caballeros are notoriously hard, long cooking beans. I lose track of how many hours (2.5-3 maybe), especially because I try to always simmer beans, never boil. If you have a pressure cooker or Instapot by all means use it. The general rule I use is when they are still uncooked but starting to get soft I add the salty stuff like stock, salted meats, then try to let them cook for another hour to meld the flavors then salt the last 30 minutes. But like @Lambchop says it’s okay if you put salty pork in early. For faster cooking beans (alubia blanca, blackeyed, lentils) you can dump it all in at the beginning. I add a skosh of red wine vinegar at the end. Sounds weird but it doesn’t make them tart, just brightens them.
I’ve been making beans for years and have tried every way. This is my method - long, slow, no pressure cooker, no instapot and I do not put salt in my beans until they are soft. Gasp! Seriously, the skins are tender, they don’t split and the broth is savory, silky & delicious.
It’s the advice that they might not turn out as well with salt that’s garbage. They obviously turn out great with salt - arguably better or not better, but most definitely not worse or wrong. The argument was that there was a technical reason why salting beans early would ruin them. That technical reason was imaginary. (I’m not saying you personally said that, just that that was the source of the myth in the first place.)
