Cooked black beans twice and not coming out properly?!


Question: I have been trying to cook cuban style black beans with two different recipes that I found online and it's just not coming out like its supposed to. For one, the liquid is not thick and black. Instead, it looks watered down. Also, the beans themselves are supposed to be soft, and these that I cooked just never seemed to be soft enough plus they tasted almost powdery inside. I have been using a large pot, while my family uses a pressure cooker back home to make them. Could this be the difference or is it something else that I may be doing wrong? Oh, and I don't ask my family for their recipe they use because they don't use measurements and I'm a beginner so I require more information than "a little of this and little of that." Any information would be highly appreciated! Thank you!


Answers: I have been trying to cook cuban style black beans with two different recipes that I found online and it's just not coming out like its supposed to. For one, the liquid is not thick and black. Instead, it looks watered down. Also, the beans themselves are supposed to be soft, and these that I cooked just never seemed to be soft enough plus they tasted almost powdery inside. I have been using a large pot, while my family uses a pressure cooker back home to make them. Could this be the difference or is it something else that I may be doing wrong? Oh, and I don't ask my family for their recipe they use because they don't use measurements and I'm a beginner so I require more information than "a little of this and little of that." Any information would be highly appreciated! Thank you!

If you add salt too early in the cooking process the beans will never turn soft. Add salt or salty products (ham, bacon, salt pork, etc.) only after the beans have turned to the consistency you want them.

Ingredients
1 lb dried black bean
1 green bell pepper, chopped
10 cups water
2/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 green bell pepper, minced
4 garlic clove, pounded
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
1Wash beans.
2In a large pot, soak the beans with the first chopped bell pepper in water until swollen. Overnight?.
3**It doesn't say so but I'd drain it at this point and add new water so the beans won't be so musical if you know what I mean.**.
4Cook until soft about 45 minutes.
5Heat oil in a medium pan. Add onion, second bell pepper and garlic and cook until soft.
6Add 1 cup of cooked beans and mash them well. Add mixture to bean pot.
7Add dry seasonings to the pot.
8Cover and boil 1 hour.
9Add vinegar and wine.
10Cover and simmer 1 hour.
11If broth is too watery, uncover and cook until it thickens.
12Just before serving stir in the olive oil.

When using dry black beans, I soak them overnight in water then cook them according to recipe the next day.First I rinse the beans thoroughly to be sure I have all residue (dirt etc) washed away. Then when adding water be sure to add no more than 'just to cover' the beans.

Cuban Black Beans and Cumin Scented Rice
Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello



1 (1-pound) bag dried black beans
4 quarts water
1 smoked ham hock
1 1/3 cups olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
12 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
12 small sweet chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped (or your choice combo of hot peppers)
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon whole dried oregano, crushed
1 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Cumin Scented Rice, recipe follows

Pick over beans, discarding any shriveled ones of foreign particles. Wash well and soak, covered in water, for 4 hours. Drain beans and place in 4 quarts of water in a soup pot. Add ham hock to the beans. Bring rapidly to a boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer beans until tender, about 35 to 45 minutes.
In a saute pan, heat 1 and 1/3 cups olive oil. Add the chopped onions and garlic to the pan and saute over low heat. Add the chopped chiles and season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 cup of drained black beans to the onion mixture in the saute pan, and mash thoroughly with rest of the ingredients in the skillet. Stir in the sugar and the dried oregano.
Add the bean and onion mixture to the bean pot. Cover, and simmer for 1 hour, at moderate heat. Add red wine, vinegar, 4 teaspoons dried oregano and cumin. Uncover and cook until sauce thickens. Serve hot.

Cumin Scented Rice:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 small limes, juiced
6 cups cold water
2 teaspoons salt
Heat butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. When butter is melted, add cumin seeds and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes.

Turn the heat to high and add the lime juice, water and salt. Mix well. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat and cook covered on low for 15 minutes until water evaporates.

Ok, the first thing is that you arent cooking them long enough. That is why they are powdery inside. Also, did you soak them before you cooked them? That will make a huge difference in cooking them too. I usually soak them over night.

Also, to get the consistency of it being dark and black, I usually "mash" about 1/4 of them. This also makes it sooooo much more flavorful. Try adding bacon or sazon goya to it to get a smokey flavor.

Hambone is correct, adding salt too soon may be your problem, try adding once everything is done.

In order to soften the black beans, or any dry bean, they need to soak overnight.

Others have addressed this issue, albeit not in a direct manner. My best guess, given the symptoms you are describing, is that you are using dried beans in a recipe that calls for canned beans. So I would either soak the dried beans for AT LEAST 24 hours (as others have indicated), or just use canned beans. I have found that the canned beans (regardless of the type of bean) are much tastier, and much less work than worrying about soaking and cooking the dried beans yourself.

I'm married to a Cuban man, so I have made my fair share of black beans. I think the first problem you may have is that you're not soaking them long enough before cooking. If you let them soak overnight, they'll cook up much quicker the next day. Another thing most people don't know is that you cannot add vinegar(or whatever acid you're using, such as white wine) until the end of the cooking time. The acid too early on will toughen your beans.
As one other answerer mentioned, it's better to take out about 1/4 or your beans and puree them or mash them. This will thicken them so they aren't watery.

The last suggestion..if all else fails, just buy the canned black beans. Don't drain before putting them in the pot. Use their liquid. It's thick and syrupy, and you'll need to add water, but it makes a nice finished product, in 20 minutes...not hours.





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