How to cook delicious beans?

I realize that the canonical black bean soup recipe contains a ham hock and whatnot, but this Mexican version is fantastic. I always make a double batch: 8 oz dried black beans 5 c cold water 2 bay leaves 3 Tb lard or vegetable oil 1/2 c chopped white onion (yellow is fine) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped (I'd go with a can myself) 3/4 to 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dried oregano cayenne pepper or chili flakes to taste Garnishes: Thinly sliced fresh jalapeño, sliced green onions, lime wedges 1. Rinse beans thoroughly in a sieve under running water, picking out debris and blemished beans. 2. Combine beans, water and bay leaves in a 3 to 4 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over high heat to boiling; immediately lower heat to very low. Simmer, covered, until beans are tender but not soft, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 3. Heat lard/oil in medium skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add tomato, salt, oregano and cayenne; cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture is almost dry, about 5 minutes. 4. Add tomato mixture to beans, simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. 5. Press soup mixture a few times with a potato masher to very roughly mash beans. 6. Serve soup with garnishes. Note: the soup is a bit watery when freshly made, but thickens up overnight and is even better the next day.

In general, here's a no-particular dish method that works for me. Cook the beans to a done texture. If you're working with dried beans, you might stop at just before your ideal texture. (Or open a can of beans or heat some frozen ones) Rinse canned or cooked-from-dry beans with at least 3 changes of water. This helps with the gumminess factor.set the beans asideSautee something oniony (onions, spring onions, shallots, a leek) until translucentAdd a little mince garlic, and sautee for 2 or 3 minutes moreAdd your other stuff. Other stuff can be all or part of the followingGreens (spinach, chard, kale, etc)Tomato (canned or otherwise)Meat (sausage, ground beef, leftover chicken, fish, or pork)Stir in the beans themselves Season with salt and pepper Season with other seasonings. Depends on the family of flavors you want.Mexicanish: pepper, cumin, oregano, cilantroIndianish: ginger, cumin, cayenne, pinch cinnamonEuropean: herbes de provence (rosemary, lavender, thyme, oregano, sage, parseley)Italian: pizza or italian seasoning blendDown-home: sage, salt, pepperOptional: add something acidic (citrus juice or vinegar) a splash at a time Heat until the beans are warm again Serve

Besides lard, the secret ingredient in Mexican black beans is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epazote. Don't listen to the haters, it's totally the next cilantro.

Start with canned beans. Dried beans need soaking (and should have soak-water changes), then cooking, then rinsing. Sounds easy except it adds many hours and if the cooking isn't perfect or the beans have been stored for too long, the cooked beans are inconsistent. That being said, if you're die hard for dried beans go with a pressure cooker, unsoaked beans take 5-30 mins, dependent on the variety. A few points: -The canning process removes a lot of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligosaccharide, which cause gas. So does soaking, which is why the water should be changed, the canning process removes more. -Always rinse canned beans, or cooked beans once you are ready to add them to a dish. -Acidic dishes (tomato based, ones with vinegar, etc.) cause the skin to become impermeable to water. If using dried beans make sure they are cooked before adding them, if using canned then be assured they will not cook more. If the dish is not acidic then don't add the beans till the near the end, unless you want mush (e.g. refried beans). Besides that I would say google some bean recipes that you want, serves me just fine.

Oh, and here's a good trick to know- Dip a spoon into the pot of beans while they cook and draw out four or five trying to bring as little liquid with them as possible. Slotted spoons are good for this. Bring the spoon up to your face. Gently blow across the beans. If the skins peel and curl while you blow, the beans are just about ready to eat, though they will still be al dente (firm). If you cook for an hour longer they will become soft. If the skins do not peel you need to cook the beans longer. Beans are good while still firm, but never mealy. If you sample your beans ad they are still mealy or the texture is not consistent, cook the beans longer.

Rancho Gordo, purveyor of amazingly great heirloom variety beans, has a great page of http://www.ranchogordo.com/html/rg_cook_index.htm and instructions, including a http://www.ranchogordo.com/html/rg_cook_beans_primer.htm on cooking beans, complete with video. And though I initially balked the first time I spent five bucks on a pound of their beans, the difference in taste is pretty remarkable.

Alkalinity is what makes beans mushy, not salt. Contrariwise, acid added too early in the process prevents your beans from softening, ever. This is why some recipes call for a pinch of baking soda in your cooking water, which is actually only a good idea if the water you're starting with is on the acidic side. As dr. moot mentioned, acid added later in the process, once things are at the texture you desire, can be quite handy, as it will keep the beans from going on getting mushier and mushier.

Fat is the secret ingredient. Butter, olive oil, bacon or ham, lard. Salt is also very important. Liquid smoke also tends to help, especially blander beans.

I second any recommendation for thyme with black beans.