Hello readers! Today I will be sharing a recipe for making beans from scratch. First I will like to give you some background on my journey to learning how to make traditional Mexican recipes. So please read on for more.
Some of you may know that I love to cook and really enjoy making things from scratch. Something about that fresh taste and the joy of learning a new work of art (food) brings me much satisfaction. I've taught myself how to cook most of my American, Italian, Asian, etc dishes but, Mexican food is one that I learned from my Grandmother, Mother, and most of all my Mother in law. I remember as a child helping my Nana (grandmother) with simple cooking tasks like peeling the tomatillos for homemade salsa, mixing the egg whites to make chiles rellenos, or shredding the carrots for caldo de pollo. The beautiful memories I carry in my Nana's kitchen, I believe, are what gave me a positive outlook with cooking and made me want to learn more. My mom taught me a few things about cooking like her delicious tomatillo salsa, or my now "famous" fettuccine alfredo, and my Jane and Juliet's favorite lunch meal; homemade chicken nuggets with fries.
Most of my cooking practice came into play after Jane was born, living with my husband and had my own kitchen to experiment with. I always love learning new recipes and making things from scratch. I also feel it's important to pick up my favorite Mexican recipes and learn how to cook them so that I can continue passing down the recipes to my children. One of those thing I always felt was important to learn was how to make fresh beans. Beans are a basic in latin families and I had to learn how to make them! So now that I was living so close to my mother in law. I began asking her to teach me to cook. My mother in law loves cooking for people she loves, so if I would of never asked she would just continue making me beans! But I feel as a mother and a wife that I need to cook for my family. I don't know if it's pride or survival instincts (ha!) or maybe something else, but it's important for me to learn these things.
In traditional hispanic kitchens, and probably in most cultures around the world, the women don't measure out ingredients with tablespoons, cups, etc. But me being a second generation American. I just didn't have that confidence, so it was a little intimidating to learn how to cook something so new to me. Okay maybe I sound like a baby or drama queen to some of you. I mean how hard can making beans possibly be? It's just three ingredients. Beans, water, salt. But a few people I know, myself included, don't succeed at making traditional hispanic beans the first time around. Mine were not too bad but I was a perfectionist. They need to taste like Nana's or like my mother in laws, although my mother in law said they were not bad for my first try, it just wasn't good enough for me. So I've come to realize that traditional women in hispanic cultures who grew up cooking Mexican food are very vague in explaining how the heck to get it right. "a little of this a little of that" seems to be how they explain. My mother in law would tell me the directions over the phone, She'd say "boil the water, rinse and sort the beans, toss them in the water, and cook them forever and ever" ha! Those were her exact words.
Well eventually I got it right. So now I've been making homemade beans for over 5 years. The secret trick is to make sure they have enough water and salt. My mistake at first was I did not put enough salt to bring out the flavor or I would let them dry out too much. The other trick is to make sure you cook them long enough to be soft but still firm.
Soaking Beans
However you can soak your beans overnight to avoid long cooking time and this technique is better for the digestive system as well. Soaking beans is a cooking technique I started and taught my mother in law about. Soaking beans reduces the cooking time because they become a little more tender from absorbing the water. They also help remove the gas causing chemicals beans are infamously known for. The beans butter shell contains a sugar called oligosaccharides. Our digestive system cannot break down this sugar. It is a large molecule compared to other sugars and cannot be absorbed by the digestive process that takes place in the small intestines. This is due to the fact that the human body doesn't produce the enzyme to break down oligosaccharides. So oligosaccharides make it all the way down to the large intestine undigested, until finally the bacteria in this area breaks it down causing fermentation and the production of gas. So by soaking beans for 8 hours we remove this sugar. In addition, it also helps to cleanse the beans of dirt, debris, and pesticides or other chemicals (I suggest buying organic). To soak the beans pour 10 cups of water for every pound of beans. Just make sure to keep them cool or refrigerated and don't leave them soaking for too long so the water doesn't get musty or moldy, and also to prevent the beans from germinating. Once ready to cook rinse the beans out very well with cold water.So with this batch of beans in the recipe I didn't soak them unfortunately. I realized the day of that I was out of beans and needed to make some asap for tonights dinner.
Anyway, what I did for you guys was I measured out my ingredients so that I can write a more specific recipe to help you get them right the first time around! But don't worry if you don't. Practice makes perfect! So lets put on our sombreros and get cooking!
Lets Begin!
- First we start with a pound of beans. I usually buy organic pinto or black beans already pre packaged in a one pound bag. This time I used Peruvian beans purchased in bulk. I used my kitchen scale to weigh out a pound of beans. Then I sorted and picked off the damaged beans.
2. Then I rinsed and washed my beans in a strainer. Remember to also do this step if you previously pre soaked your beans.
3. Then boil water in large saucepan. I start off with 10-12 cups but gradually add more throughout the cooking process and end up putting in 14-16 cups of water which adds up to about a gallon of water.
4. Once the water is boiling carefully toss in beans. Allow the water to reach back to a boil then lower it down to simmer, cover, and cook for 3 hours. If beans were pre soaked then beans should be ready within 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.
5. Once beans are close to being done add in 1 1/2-2 tbsp of salt. The beauty of this recipe is if you go over board with the salt, then you can just add more water! Actually adding more water throughout the cooking process is recommended if water keeps evaporating before beans are done. Like I mentioned above I begin with about 12 cups of water and continue adding more throughout the cooking time.
Once fully cooked serve in a bowl and add cheese, fry and smash on a pan for refried beans, or add to your favorite recipe. I usually use up the whole pot of beans within a few days, but you can also freeze them to add to future recipes when needed. I don't make beans every week but when I do I make sure to use them up for breakfast, lunch, dinner so I do not have much experience with freezing them, but I've seen my Nana do it successfully, so it should work well.
Other dish ideas with beans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Cheese quesadilla (add bacon for breakfast)
- Burritos
- Black Bean soup
- with Mexican rice
- As a side with fajitas
- With chips
Have you ever made beans from scratch? Please leave any questions or comments below. Thanks for reading!
Melissa
| Prep Time | 10 mintutes |
| Servings |
|
- 1 Pound Beans Black, Pinto, Peruvian etc
- 1 Gallon Fresh Water
- 1 1/2-2 Tablespoons Salt
Ingredients
|
|
- First boil water in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Partly cover with lid to prevent water from evaporating to quickly. *Pre soaking beans can be a good option for you see notes below.
- While water is heating up measure and sort beans removing any damaged pieces. Rinse the beans well to remove any debris.
- When water reaches a boil carefully toss in beans and cover slightly with lid till it reaches back to a boil. Once boiling lower the temperature to low and allow the beans to simmer till ready. Check beans frequently as the water can overflow and to make sure beans are not getting too dry, if so are add more water.
- Cook beans for 3 hours. For *pre-soaked beans cook for 1-1 1/2 hours.
- When beans are done or almost done add the salt. Serve in a bowl, or add to your favorite recipes. Beans can last a few days in the refrigerator but you can also freeze any leftovers to use for future recipes.
*Presoaked Beans: Pre soaking beans has health benefits along with quicker cooking time. I go more into depth above in post. To pre soak beans sort and pick out any damaged beans then pour onto a large bowl and fill up with water till beans are covered. Let sit 8 hours throughout the day or overnight in a cool area or in refrigerator making sure not to let the beans soak for longer than 8 hours. Once ready to cook rinse out beans very well and cook as directed.
