Leigh Ann Parente

When I cook dried beans, I use the Rancho Gordo method. But I remember when I first started cooking beans, I was really not sure about the whole process. So, here’s the Rancho Gordo method for cooking beans, but with more hand-holding.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dried beans
• olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• salt
• seasonings

1. Soak, or don’t. See, already, I’m a big help. The truth is, if I plan in advance to cook beans, then sure! I’ll soak! But if it’s 4:30, and I suddenly realize I need beans for dinner, then I won’t soak. Does soaking help? IDK. It’s supposed to speed up the cook time, and make the beans cook more evenly, but I don’t really see a difference. Because I’m almost exclusively cooking Rancho Gordo beans, and they are as fresh as dried beans can be, I don’t think soaking is required. But IF I am going to soak, I put the beans in a big bowl with lots of water and a tablespoon or two of salt.
2. You’re going to need a big pot with a lid. I use a 5.5qt stainless steel. Maybe someday I’ll get one of those fancy La Creuset enamel dutch oven. Pour some olive oil into your pan, somewhere between 2 – 4 tablespoons. You know: glug-glug. I usually dice my onion, and saute until golden, but you don’t have to. You can use a whole, pealed onion. Or rough-chop. Sometimes I use garlic instead. Sometime I go the whole mirepoix. Use whatever you have, or nothing at all.
3. If you soaked the beans, drain & rinse. If you didn’t soak the beans, just rinse. Add the beans to the pot, right on top of the onion, and add enough water to cover by several inches. **Pro tip: I don’t have a “pot filler” so I use my electric kettle to bring the water from the sink to the pot. Since now the water is in the kettle…I boil the water in the kettle. It saves a few minutes on the stove.
4. Season. I add about 1 tablespoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Beyond that, maybe a bay leaf. Because I’m vegetarian, I almost always add a smokey spice, like powdered chipotle pepper or smoked paprika. Not too much, maybe 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon. Use what you like. Give it all a good stir.
5. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT STEP: Bring the beans to a hard boil. Let them boil, a good, strong, rolling boil, uncovered, 10-15 minutes.
6. Turn your heat down as low as it goes, and cover the beans, leaving the lid cracked just a bit. They will continue to boil, and slowly cool down to barely a simmer. I leave them like that for about half an hour.
7. Using an oven mitt bc boy that lid can get hot, check the beans. Give them a stir. Try one! How close is it to being done? If they are a thin-skinned bean, they may be done already! Or they might need another 15 minutes. Or, if they are old and ornery, and you didn’t soak them, maybe they need another 30 minutes. No matter what, I use the rule of 3: test three beans before making your decision.
8. Usually at this point, once I’ve decided they are done, I turn off the stove, and leave the beans covered for a minute. This is because I’m likely going to refrigerate some, if not all, of the cooked beans. There’s no reason to burn yourself trying to transfer hot beans to your storage containers.

That’s it! You have – without a doubt – the most delicious beans ever cooked, ready to eat.