Beans
I've posted about beans before. Around my home they are something of a staple as I make them a few times per month.
I thought I might list a few tips on how I get the most out of them.
To avoid excessive flatulence, there's two methods you can use. You can bring the beans to a boil with about 2 qts of water per lb of beans in a stock pot, shut off the heat and let them soak for a few hours, then drain off the water and cook normally. This releases much of the indigestible sugars which cause flatulence. Unfortunately this method also drains off many of the vitamins and flavor also, so I don't use this method. What I do instead is cook the beans low and slow which break down the indigestible sugars. More on this in the next paragraph.
As far as beans that take a while to cook, like pinto and kidney beans, I cook them in my crock pot for around 8 hours. I have a temperature controller that I set to 190F and forget about it. Some higher end crock pots have a built in temperature controller. If you don't want to go to the expense of one of those options, there are different methods you can try. You can adjust the settings and volume on a traditional crock pot, or you can use a dutch oven lidded inside your oven. Both of those methods are going to require some experimentation. Ideally you want a temperature between 180-200F, and the closer you are to those extremes the more or less time it's going to take. I've found that 190F and 8 hours is pretty reliable. Stovetop methods are probably going to be very difficult to maintain a constant temperature. If you go with the low and slow method, stirring isn't needed and generally lowers the temperature pretty quickly. It's best to just let it stew as it can take a while to restore your target temperature which is just going to add to the cooking time. The low and slow method also provides for a different texture compared to beans that are boiled or simmered. The beans tend to stay intact with a creamy texture throughout, instead of beans which are mostly falling apart.
Halfway through the cook I take about 1/4 of the beans out with about twice that much stock and run it through my blender. You can also just mash them up with a fork or a potato masher, but I've found the blender works best. This step is optional, and produces a richer stock.
I keep my seasonings pretty simple. The low and slow method actually produces a lot of flavor from the beans themselves. I pretty much always add 1 tsp of salt per lb of beans, which suits my tastes. I add a bay leaf or two and 1/4 tsp black or red pepper. I like to throw one or two fresh peppers in the mix. I usually flavor pinto beans with pork such as a couple of strips of smoked bacon or a smoked ham hock, or some leftover ham from my smoker which I like to keep on hand in the freezer. If you want to go vegan or vegetarian there's all sorts of options. Liquid smoke works pretty well as does Kitchen Bouquet. For 1 lb of beans it generally takes about 2 qts of liquid. For some of the water you can substitute stock, which I do quite often, or you can use beer, which is one of my favorites. Dark beers like a porter or Guinness work well as do pale ales. I don't like beers that are very hoppy. I usually use Shiner, because that's one I almost always have on hand.
For garnish I top with chopped scallions and/or cilantro. I put a bottle of Trappey's peppers and a Tabasco style hot sauce on the table. Naturally rice goes great with red beans.
For pinto beans, naturally you must have cornbread to go with it. I use a few different recipes, but probably the one I use most often is the one from King Arthur flour. It's simple, works very well, and I always have all the ingredients. I really like their recipe because you can convert to weight for the ingredients online. This makes it super simple if you have a kitchen scale. I always bake in my 9" cast iron skillet, preheated along with the oven.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cornbread-recipe
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1 pound of dried beans (black or pinto), and ½ large onion (left whole)
Cover with at least 3 inches of water
Bring to boil and cook at a rapid simmer, partly covered, until soft (about 1 ½ hours)
Add 1 T salt and some epazote and cook for another 15 minutes, or until they are falling apart.
Remove onion and epazote and then do whatever you like to them - just like they are or puree, refry, soup, whatever
Oh, and I always refry in lard
You don't need much at a time and it goes bad pretty quickly once picked. I haven't seen much thyme down here, but mexican oregano is used a lot.
I think if you make your beans simple, you can jazz them up however you like! I like mine refried with cheese.
