Bean Recipes PLEASE

[RkyMntPrepper]

I know to some this may sound weird or possibly even unbelievable, but I’m one of those strange people who DO NOT care for the taste of beans. I have to be REALLY hungry to eat such things as pinto beans and white beans. (Green beans and waxed beans are just fine but other type of beans, not so much.) Even then I’ve been known to pass on beans because there are times when the thought of that beany taste will turn off any appetite I may have.

I’m hoping there may be others like me out there who may have some suggestions to offer. Or am I the only weird one in the world?? I know that rice and beans are a complete protein and, therefore, good for the human body. So I would like to overcome this distaste for beans now while I can slowly work at it. That means I’m going to have to figure out a way of masking that “beany” taste.

Any ideas?? I’m willing to try a number of recipes until I come up with one or two that seems a bit more palatable to me. I’d like to start out with pinto beans since they are readily available and cheap. That way if I mess up the first few times it won’t be such a big loss.

I’ve got a slow cooker, cast iron dutch oven, and a number of other cooking pots and pans so I’m set there. I just need some really good recipes, ones that maybe someone has tweaked for everyone in the family.

Thank You and please be somewhat kind in your criticism.

[pete lynch]

Here is a good one:

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe

2 pounds dried navy beans

four quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/refe.../bean_soup.htm

[RkyMntPrepper]

Here is a good one:


http://www.senate.gov/reference/refe.../bean_soup.htm

I will definitely give this one a try. Thanks much!!!

[2dumb2kwit]

About the only way I do pinto beans, is a recipe I got from the food network. It's pretty dang close to what was already posted. About the only difference is adding some red bell pepper to it, in the last hour of simmering.

[RkyMntPrepper]

About the only way I do pinto beans, is a recipe I got from the food network. It's pretty dang close to what was already posted. About the only difference is adding some red bell pepper to it, in the last hour of simmering.

Oh, and I like green and red peppers too. Will have to try that. Thanks!!

[edr730]

If you don't care for anything like pinto, northern or navy beans you might try black beans.
Some people may put the soup in a blender or put some rice in it, but the tradional way is to cook the black beans with onions, salt, pepper, cilantro, butter or pork fat and often peppers. When it's done you either drop eggs or pork rinds into it depending on what region it comes from.
Another way I like bean soup would be similar to the recipe that pete lynch has but with a bit more water. You make unsweetened white cornbread, place on the plate and pour the soup over top of it. I usually eat too much of this bean soup made in this way,

[Lamewolf]

Slow cooker + pinto beans + smoked ham hocks = heavenly meal. Add fried cornbread and fried taters and its all complete !

[LowKey]

These are great with Hot Dogs, Ham or any kind of BBQ.

Real stick-to-yer-ribs Yankee Baked Beans

1lb of dry beans (I use Roman or Jacob's Cattle but you can use any type of baking bean)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2tsp salt
2tsp dried mustard
About 1tsp of ginger (usually just shake it in and don't measure.)
1 large onion Chopped in large pieces.
1 package salt pork or bacon ends

Wash and sort beans (the number of small stones you find can be surprising.)
Soak beans covered with +1" of water, in a pot you can use on the stovetop. Don't refrigerate. Leave em out on the counter. Don't drain.
Next morning, add water to beans to cover them again + 1" of water.
Add salt pork or bacon end and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occassionally. If you hate bean smell, this will be the worst part.
Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix gently. Do not remove salt pork or bacon.
Pour everything into a baking dish with a cover and cook at 350° for 5 to 6 hours checking occasionally after the second hour that they haven't boiled dry.
First serving may be a little watery, but if you let them set a bit, the juice will thicken. Second day beans are the best.

Or you can soak the beans all day, boil them, then throw them in a slow oven (250°) overnight. But you still might want to check they don't boil dry.

[Rick]

Before you ask for recipes you might want to find a bean that suits your taste buds. There are over 40,000 bean varieties so I'm sure there is one or two that you could eat. Have you tried Edamame (Eda may me')? It's a specific type of soybean and doesn't taste like other beans. You don't even need a recipe to fix them. Boil in salt water or steam them and eat. Easy peasy and they taste great.

[tundrabadger]

I've been looking for good recipes for dried beans as well...does anybody have one that doesn't involve pork?

[RkyMntPrepper]

Before you ask for recipes you might want to find a bean that suits your taste buds. There are over 40,000 bean varieties so I'm sure there is one or two that you could eat. Have you tried Edamame (Eda may me')? It's a specific type of soybean and doesn't taste like other beans. You don't even need a recipe to fix them. Boil in salt water or steam them and eat. Easy peasy and they taste great.

Hey, thank you for the suggestion. I will look into this. You are right, out of 40,000 varieties (I didn't know this) I should come up with at least a few that work for me.

[LowKey]

You can leave the pork out of mine. Doesn't do any harm.

[tundrabadger]

Does it matter what kind of sugar you use? Because my instinct is saying brown sugar. Also, do you think that would work in the slow cooker? It'd help to save on electricity versus having the oven running all day.

[pete lynch]

The recipe I posted could be done without hamhocks.
Smoked turkey or bacon would be good too.

[LowKey]

Depends on how much you like molasses Tundrabadger. Brown sugar also has a molasses flavor so you'd be doubling down.
Yes, works in a slow cooker. Usually when I'm doing Baked Beans I'm doing a bunch of other things while the oven is on. Bread, crackers or pie usually, sometimes cooking bones for soup (I roast them in the oven before boiling if they are just soup bones rather than leftovers,) so not wasting the electric. If I'm doing an overnight bake, it's always in the winter. In summer I'll do the beans out in the smoker when doing a low and slow roast of something.

Ok, does anyone have a good recipe for Refried Beans?

[RkyMntPrepper]

Thank You to everyone who has offered suggestions and recipes for the beans. I think I can do this and based on some of the suggestions this should be a very tasty experience. Thank you again, one and all!!!!!

[pete lynch]

Here is the recipe for Dick Proenneke's bean stew (as documented by biologist Will Troyer)

4 cups small navy beans
boil 15-20 minutes and then discard the water
dice 2 potatoes and add to beans
cover with water and bring to low boil until tender
add 1-2 TBS of Worcestershire sauce to taste
garlic salt to taste
1-2 tsp of chili powder
black pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1-2 bouillion cubes
1 cup diced celery
1/2-1 cup of diced bacon
Cook beans for 3-4 hours and mix flour and water in a small bowl and stir into beans to thicken when nearly done.

I transcribed this from the book "The Early Years" The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke 1967-1973
Edited by John Branson.
I have never tried this recipe but I'd like to hear if anyone else has.

[sjj]

.......................................

[tundrabadger]

Depends on how much you like molasses Tundrabadger. Brown sugar also has a molasses flavor so you'd be doubling down.
Yes, works in a slow cooker. Usually when I'm doing Baked Beans I'm doing a bunch of other things while the oven is on. Bread, crackers or pie usually, sometimes cooking bones for soup (I roast them in the oven before boiling if they are just soup bones rather than leftovers,) so not wasting the electric. If I'm doing an overnight bake, it's always in the winter. In summer I'll do the beans out in the smoker when doing a low and slow roast of something.

Ok, does anyone have a good recipe for Refried Beans?

I DO enjoy molasses. But without the saltiness of the bacon, maybe I don't want quite that much molasses flavour, you're right.

[Rollicks]

I love navy beans. I wash them and I soak them overnight and rinse them again. They cook better and are much more tender that way. Many Beans are toxic if they are not cooked thoroughly.

I cook them with reconstituted beef jerky, or bacon.

Red Ground pepper, onion and garlic are good additions.

Throw in your favorite bbq sauce, either one you make or one you buy.

If I want it a little sweeter I throw in some pineapple juice. Not tangy enough? Add some cider vinegar. Autolyzed yeast has some of the same nutritional value as meat and veg as it is a fungi. So, if you don't have access to meat, but want the same flavor/nutrition, I would go with that.

The best way to cook it is low and slow, I use a dutch oven for mine. This is a good time to experiment too. Cook the beans and add a little of your favorite things, taste, ask if it needs something, add, taste, ask, repeat until good or hungry (hunger = best spice because it makes everything taste good! That's why they make you wait so long at fancy restaurants). It also helps if you have someone there to taste with you. Cooking can be a fun activity that you can share with the people around you. I think that the beans taste better when you develop the flavor profile over time.

Experiment with lentils. Lentils are easy. They're good in any stew or broth. They readily soak up any flavor from the broth, don't need a lot of time to cook because they are small and the texture is like pasta. I usually include them in my beef barley stew.

Oh and my favorite lentil is Moong Dal aka Mung Dahl or Mung bean. It's a very versatile bean. You can use it in stews, steamed with rice, ground into a flour for breads, mixed into a dip. You can slip them into virtually any dish and not even know that they're there.

I understand not liking beans though. My grandma used to only make us beans and rice, day in and day out. I didn't like it to begin with and I didn't like having to eat it every day, but I never blamed the beans. Grandma could burn water (sorry grandma). If only she could have taken a page from taco bell, they have 40 or 50 ways of making the same (can I say damn here? It's not a swear, I swear!) thing with beans and people swear that Taco A is better than Taco B. So, I would say, try preparing them in different ways until you find a way you like as well as trying different recipes.

I almost forgot about Red Adzuki beans! These guys are used in desserts. It's got a buttery, earthy sweet flavor.

Wheww. Sorry for the long post.