Averie Cooks

-1 Rinse and sort beans in a colander over the sink. Remove any debris.
-1 To a large pot or Dutch oven, add the beans and cover with 8 cups water.
-1 Put pot on stove, keep it uncovered to you can watch it, turn heat to high, and bring water to a boil. When the water comes to a rolling boil (you can’t stir it to stop the boiling), allow it to boil vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes.
-1 Shut the heat off and immediately cover pot with a lid. Allow pot to remain covered for about 1 hour.
-1 After about 1 hour, drain beans in a colander over the sink and rinse very well with water (I find rinsing is key to preventing gas if I’m being honest)
-1 Put beans back into the pot and cover with 6 cups of water.
-1 Put pot on stove, keep the lid tilted so steam can escape, and bring beans to a simmer, keeping the heat in the low to medium low range.
-1 Allow beans to simmer for about 2 hours, or until tender. Note – Although you should not rush simmering and the water should barely be bubbling or moving, if I’m in a hurry, I let the simmer become stronger, and beans only need about 75 minutes. If I truly keep them at a very low simmer, it takes about 2 hours. The risk of rushing simmering and using too high of a temp is that the outer portion of the bean could become mushy before the interior fully cooks through. If at any point the water level has reduced significantly, add another cup or so of water.
-1 Taste a few beans every 15 minutes or so, after simmering for about 1 hour. While beans are in the final 15 minutes or so of simmering, you can add salt or seasonings, to taste. They should be nearly done, but still too ‘al dente’ to enjoy. I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon salt and going from there, to taste. Make sure to read related blog text above about salt. Other spices or herbs to consider include garlic, onions, smoked paprika, bay leaves, or your favorites, added to taste.
-1 When beans are tender (taste a few just to make sure), turn the heat off. If you plan to make soup with them, allowing them to cool and keeping them in the cooking liquid is fine. I drain beans in a colander over the sink and rinse them very well, and I discard the cooking liquid; all of which goes against what many people suggest because they believe the liquid is full of flavor. Keep some cooking liquid, as if it were soup stock, in a jar in your refrigerator if you think you may need it.
-1 I store my cooked and drained beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Overall, this method will work with almost any beans, noting that some beans such as garbanzo beans take longer to simmer, about 3 hours rather than 2.