Dried Beans

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Growing up, I ate a lot of corn bread and beans.  It became one of my favorite meals that my grandmothers on my mom’s side of the family made.  I just loved the taste of this meal, but I didn’t know at that time, that this was one of the most eaten meals by my ancestors in Kentucky and Tennessee, because it is almost all they could afford.  The pinto beans and cornbread made an almost perfect protein, and the beans were grown and dried so they could be used all winter long.  To this day, my favorite meal to make is cornbread and beans with fried potatoes and fried pork chops.  The meal grandma Cortie always makes for me when I get home.

Drying beans is easy to do, heck my great grandmother used to put them on sheets under her beds, or on screens outside,  but with the abundance of dried beans out there, its just as easy to buy them in bulk.  They are easily stored and last for months.  Best of all, using dried beans cost so much less than canned.  Oh, and by the way, they are healthier, they don’t have all those additives and preservatives like the canned ones.

All dried beans can be rehydrated  easily by either soaking overnight in a large bowl of water, or bringing them to a slow boil, remove from the heat and remain in the water for 1-2 hours.  I myself prefer the overnight method, for no other reason than that’s how grandma did it.

 In general, the larger the bean, the longer they need to soak: and the longer you soak beans, the faster they cook.

Cooking Dried Beans:

The best cookware for beans is a heavy metal pot or saucepan. My preference of course is my cast iron dutch oven.

Bring the beans to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the beans are tender. You need to check beans often, because some beans will cook quicker than others depending on size and soaking time.

Make sure you always simmer your beans slowly, boiling them at a high temperature will only break the beans apart and the protein will foam up and boil over your pot.

Now you can store your beans for a few days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 6 months, for use in your favorite recipes/salads/puree’s.  I like to use garbanzos for humus, and red beans for chili, soups, salads and jambalaya.

If your making pinto beans to use over cornbread, you might want to use a potato masher and give your beans a mash or two once they are tender.  This will help them thicken some.