Beans in the Raw

A popular question that I get from many home cooks is whether or not it's worth it to take the time to soak and prepare beans from raw instead of just using canned beans. Canned beans are a wonderful way to save time and do come in handy in a pinch. However, if you’re looking to build full flavor in your dish and enjoy the ideal texture of the bean, raw beans are worth the wait.

The big advantages over canned or any pre-made beans is that you get to cater the flavor profile and texture of the beans to the dish itself. A premade bean in most cases will be neutral in flavor and is generally overcooked. When preparing our own beans from raw, we can choose the type of stock or cooking liquid along with the aromatics that will best compliment the finished dish as well as cooking the beans to the appropriate or favorable doneness.

Before cooking raw beans it is important to soak the beans in advance for 8 to 12 hours. Maximum soaking allows the beans to fully hydrate before cooking and results in a creamy or smooth texture on the pallet in the finished dish. One shortcut to soaking that has worked for me is placing the raw beans in a pot of water and bringing them to a boil, cut off the heat and let them sit in the hot water for one hour.

When soaking, it is ideal to use a large bowl or even the pot you plan on cooking in - you need a big enough vessel and enough water that the beans have room to expand without overflowing or coming above the water level meaning the beans should stay fully submerged in water through the soaking process. Beans should be soaked in the refrigerator overnight to prohibit the development of yeasts or bacteria. Do not salt the soaking water, this tends to dry out the shell of the bean and it will come off during soaking or cooking. Keeping the shell of the bean is optimal for cooking and retaining the texture.

Once the beans have been properly soaked, it is time to cook. Strain away the soaking liquid and cook the beans with no salt in a flavorful broth with plenty of spices and aromatics or in plain water to keep the flavor of the bean itself as the forefront of the flavor in the finished dish. Cook the beans with enough liquid that they stay submerged while cooking, using a lid to cover the pot.

Season with salt when the beans are 10-15 minutes out from being finished (usually beans will cook for 45 minutes to one hour). This will keep the shells on your beans. Allow the beans to cool in the cooking broth and also store your beans in the broth to prevent them from drying out. In the recipe that follows, I use an heirloom pinto bean from a farm in Mexico that grows an endless verity of legumes, but any dry bean would work great in this recipe!

Grains and legumes are just a few of the topics discussed at length in our Culinary Boot Camp course, which consists of five full days of traditional cooking methods and techniques that you can utilize in your home kitchen. Whether you’re a novice cook or looking to advance your current understanding of cooking, we will focus in on exactly what it is you're looking to progress in or learn about culinary arts. In the meantime, go and get your beans soaking!

Pinto Pollo Stew with Roasted Poblano

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Inactive time: 12 hours

Total time: 13 hours, 30 minutes

1 pound dried pinto beans (soaked 6-12 hours & drained)

Enough water to cover beans by a few inches

1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil

1/4 pound bacon cut into small dice

4-5 chicken thighs, bone-in/skin-on 

1 small Spanish onion, small dice 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoon Mexican oregano 

2-3 dried chilies, seeds removed cut into strips (ancho or chipotle work great) 

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 poblano peppers (roasted, seeds removed, diced)

Salt to taste 

1. Soak the beans in water overnight in the fridge. Pour off soaking liquid the next day.

2. In a medium pot, render bacon until crispy and then remove the bacon from the pan leavening the rendered fat in the pot and set aside. 

3. In the same pan, start browning the chicken thighs skin side down, develop some color on both sides of the chicken. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off some of the fat from the pot reserving a few tablespoons to cook the onions and spices in.

4. Add the onion to the pot and cook until lightly caramelized (about 5-8 minutes) followed by the garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the tomato paste, chilies, spices and dried herbs. Cook for a minute or two until these ingredients become aromatic. This mixture is known as the “soffritto.”

5. Add the soaked beans to the pot along with the stock, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden utensil. Place the chicken thighs into the broth and beans and bring everything to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

6. This is a good time to roast the poblanos over an open flame or under the oven broiler. Place the roasted pepper in a bowl and cover. Later, peel skin off the pepper and dice.

7. Cook the beans and chicken covered for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender.

8. Remove the chicken and allow to cool. Season the beans with salt and keep simmering the beans until they are also nice and tender. 

9. Pull and shred the meat from the thighs once they are cool enough to handle. Remove 3 cups of the cooked beans with some broth from the pot and purée in a blender or food processor (if you have an immersion blender you can partially blend the beans right in the pot) add the shredded chicken and bean purée back into the pot along with the roasted poblano pepper and bacon. Stir and season to taste. Enjoy with wedge of lime and your favorite tortilla chips.