Steve Sando, owner of Napa’s Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Food, has cooked many a pot of beans and this is the way he recommends. I concur.
Soaking dried beans can speed up the cooking process and help the beans to cook more evenly, but it’s not necessary if you start with good-quality beans and use them within two years of harvest. Adding broth, seasoning or vegetables will make the beans more flavorful, but I generally cook them very simply, adding a bay leaf while simmering, and salting near the end. Salting earlier will toughen the skins. No matter your source for dried beans, it’s always a good idea to pick through for small stones and debris, and rinse them before soaking or cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 bay leaf
- Sea salt
Preparation
Soak beans for 4 to 6 hours. If you don’t have time to soak your beans, don’t fret. Go ahead and cook them un-soaked, just know it will take bit longer.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add beans and their soaking water, plus enough additional water to cover beans by a couple of inches. Add bay leaf.
Bring the pot to a hard boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer before covering. Open and close the lid occasionally, or keep it ajar, to help control heat and allow some evaporation. Bean broth will taste best if it has chance to breathe and reduce a little.
After about an hour, start checking the beans for doneness. If the broth starts getting low, add boiling water to keep the beans completely covered.
Once the beans are nearly tender, add salt. Go easy at first and taste the beans after a bit more cooking. It takes a while for them to absorb the salt.
