Bean skins always come off from soaking or cooking

[callahan9119]

We like beans, but always have to end up buying canned because every time I try cooking dry beans the skins come off either during soaking or during cooking. I've scoured the internet and cookbooks and always follow the procedure exactly to no avail. It doesn't matter if they are bulk pinto from the Mexican section or gourmet organic cranberry beans, in the pot or the pressure cooker. They all don't come off and break up but half seem to, so it's kinda sloppy.

I'm a pretty good cook, but these things are turning out to be the bane of my cooking existence and I'm sick of having whole cabinets filled with cans of beans. Anybody have a secret to making them perfectly? I watched every video on google, and articles from pressure cooker sites to vegan people explaining the wonders of beans.

Thanks.

 

[Phil]

Cover the pinto beans with water and bring to a boil. Drain and cover with fresh, cold water. Add salt pork to the beans and bring them to a boil, again. Then cook the beans on a low heat 'till tender. Check the water level frenquently. They should be done in about two hours. I then season to taste, adding onion and garlic, and place a loose lid on top, cooking another hour or so. I never have any skins in the water. Best taste on the third day, so I let 'em rest three days before eating.

 

[AlisonC]

Are you salting them too early? The trick with beans is not to salt until they're like 95% done.

 

[callahan9119]

No, they start to come off just from cold water soaking. I don't season beans until I am using them in a dish, just oil as it's supposed to help keep the skins on.

 

[forty_caliber]

Have you tried cooking them in a pressure cooker? Only 5 - 8 minutes using soaked beans.

What kind of beans are you cooking? How often do you stir them?

.40

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I guess I never considered the skins coming off to be a bad thing. I just skim off the floaters and drain the beans. Any skinless beans are going to break down and add to thickening of the dish.

 

[justplainbill]

I guess I never considered the skins coming off to be a bad thing. I just skim off the floaters and drain the beans. Any skinless beans are going to break down and add to thickening of the dish.

Thanks for saying what I was thinking.

 

[callahan9119]

Have you tried cooking them in a pressure cooker? Only 5 - 8 minutes using soaked beans.

What kind of beans are you cooking? How often do you stir them?

.40

Yes, I've tried simmering and pressure cooking. It's any bean I use, doesn't matter if it is cranberry or pinto. Black turtle beans seem to hold up best. Maybe I'm just being too picky, but when I make Mexican bean dishes I like them to be whole. We've been eating alot of Mexican/TexMex recently because it is dirt cheap.

 

[forty_caliber]

Do you purchase commercially packaged beans or bulk? Improper drying or freshness could be an issue. How many pounds of beans are you cooking at once?

.40

 

[PrincessFiona60]

When you buy canned beans and rinse them, the beans that the skins came off are in the liquid you just rinsed off. So, even canned beans are not perfection.

 

[callahan9119]

Usually the La Preferida brand that are in our Mexican isle, 2 pound bags. I never cook more than 2 cups dried. Maybe I just need to get used to sloppy beans, it just sucks that in the cans they are all perfect.

Pinto will split when not in the skins, there are never split beans in the brand of canned we buy.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Usually the La Preferida brand that are in our Mexican isle, 2 pound bags. I never cook more than 2 cups dried. Maybe I just need to get used to sloppy beans, it just sucks that in the cans they are all perfect.

Pinto will split when not in the skins, there are never split beans in the brand of canned we buy.

That's because they have broken down to form the liquid the "perfect" beans are packed in. Have you noticed the grainy texture of the liquid you are rinsing off? That texture is the broken down beans.

 

[forty_caliber]

Thanks for the responses. I don't see any glaring problems with technique, i.e. cooking 10 pounds of beans in a 5 qt stock pot.

Commercial canneries cook hundreds of pounds of beans at once in giant kettles. Quality control would help prevent imperfections in the final product.

If you must have perfect beans you could try draining the cooked beans in a colander. Capture the liquid in a mixing bowl and drain through a cheese cloth. Pick out any skinless or split beans and re-combine with the filtered juices.

.40

 

[Zhizara]

It never bothered me. When the beans are done, I usually mash some of them to make a thicker liquid. The skins are pure fiber and should as such be good for your digestive tract.

 

[justplainbill]

Perhaps the canned beans are made from pulses that are not quite as dried? You might try the dried products from Jack Rabbit and Goya.

 

[madi]

don't like bean skins coming off

Am having the same problem, but didn't used to. Kicked your message up googling problem. This was five years ago, but am hoping to hear if you found a solution. I didn't used to have this problem. Also noticed the skins on white beans are WAY thicker and toughter than they used to be. Is there maybe some GMO type effect happening here? My destroyed batch of beans was grown in Moses Lake, WA.

 

[cinisajoy]

I never noticed if the skins come off. We usually do our beans in the slow cooker over night. With bacon or salt pork.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Soak the beans is salted water as the salt slightly toughens the skins. It does not keep the beans hard as some people say. I know this because I use salted water for both soaking, and cooking. The beans stay intact better. Do not add any ingredient that is acidic, as this will prevent the beans from cooking all the way through. But salt is a must, IMO. It also adds to the flavor of the beans.

Instead of soaking, I usually boil the dried beans in salted water, remove, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes. I then cook until tender. It takes about 40 minutes for the beans to be completely cooked.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North