Confession: until a few weeks ago I had never cooked beans from their dried form. When my Aunt Cindy came to visit she taught me how and gave me her recipe. They are great served with Mexican food or just eaten as-is! Black beans could be pureed into soup or added to some Sneaky Chef recipes (white beans as well).
This can be done with any type of beans. I’ve made pinto beans with a leftover ham bone and also vegetarian black beans. Both turned out awesome!
Purchase your favorite type of beans in bulk in any amount.
The night before: Rinse beans, then cover with cold water and let sit overnight in a large pot.
Pick through for any beans that float, drain, and rinse again.
Add broth or stock (any type) or water to cover beans. Add any of the following:
- ham bone or hocks
- bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- any type of pepper, roughly chopped
- chopped celery
- chopped radish
Season with any of the following (or be creative with what you have in the cupboard):
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t thyme
- 1/2 t red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- canned green chiles or canned enchilada sauce(I have yet to try this)
Bring everything to boil, then cover and reduce to slow boil for one hour. Check firmness of the beans, turn ham bone if included, and continue cooking until beans are soft. Finish cooking for the last 20 minutes with the top off to thicken the liquid surrounding beans. Clean meat off the ham bone if it hasn’t already fallen off.
We enjoyed our beans with carnitas tacos or just out of a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and Tapatio.
Hello Brielle! 