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How to Cook Dried Yellow Eye Beans
Cook time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Did you just get some heirloom yellow eye beans in the mail or at your local farmers market? I did, and here is how to I cooked them!
How to Cook Yellow Eye Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound of dried yellow eye beans, rinsed
- 1 onion
- 2 celery stalks, rinsed
- 2 carrots, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 cups of water
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Cut the onion in half through the root. Remove the papery skin and any “hairy bits” from the root. Cut the celery and the carrots into approximately 2 inch chunks.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, yellow eye beans, and water to a large pot or dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil with the lid off for 10 minutes. Cover and reduce to simmer.
- After an hour of simmering, check in on the beans and give them a stir. Do you need more water? If so, add it to the pot. Let them simmer for at least another hour.
- After the yellow eye beans have simmered for two hours, they should be softer but not yet done. Taste a bean to see how close you are. At this time, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper.
- Check on the beans every 15 minutes or so until they are cooked to your liking. It generally takes between 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours to finish.
- Once the yellow eye beans have finished cooking, remove the carrot, onion, bay leaf, and celery. Season to taste.
Notes
Remember to refer to the web site for additional info!
Dried yellow eye beans
I don’t think you can start a conversation about dried yellow eye beans without starting with how they look. Yellow eye beans really are sexy looking dried beans. Yeah, I typed that. Visually, they most closely resemble black-eyed peas, which are actually beans, not peas. But the yellow eye beans are roughly twice the size of black-eyed peas.
Yellow eye beans next to black-eyed peas
To soak the dried beans or not to soak the dried beans? You can soak dried beans overnight to shorten the cooking process. I used to do this, but now I just cook them without soaking them overnight. It takes a little longer to cook, but that way you don’t have to plan a day in advance to cook beans. The other important ingredient is the salt.
The process for cooking these dried yellow eye beans is simple. You just need an onion, some celery, carrots, bay leaves, water, and a pot or dutch oven large enough to cook them in. Or if you get really into cooking beans, you could look into getting one of these Lourdes Pots. If you don’t have any fresh vegetables on hand, just add some onion powder and garlic powder. If you have a specific use for the cooked yellow eye beans in mind already, such as a soup or stew, you may want to throw in some of those flavors as well. For example, if I know I am going to be making a dish with cumin in it, I would probably add a tablespoon of cumin at the start of the cooking process.
These yellow eyed beans are ready to be cooked!
When should you salt the beans during the cooking process? You should salt the beans once they start to soften but before they are fully cooked. Again, depending on what you are ultimately doing with the cooked yellow eye beans, you can salt them to taste now, or you can season them further in that dish. If you are going to strain them from the cooking liquid and eat them in a salad, or another simple preparation, I would recommend salting them to taste at the end of the cooking process.
Oh and don’t get rid of the cooking liquid. Basically, as a by-product of cooking dried beans, you have also made a bean and veggie broth. Save it for the next time you make a soup or bean stew. On colder days, I have been known to fill a mug with the cooking liquid after I’ve cooked a pot of beans.
According to Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo, yellow eye beans are a good substitute for navy beans. And perhaps even a superior bean. But there is only one way to find out, right?
It’s time to get your dried yellow eye beans out of the pantry and onto the stove. Let’s cook some beans!
Servings/Suggestions
In a soup, stew, or green chili
Make a yellow eye bean dip
Dress the yellow eye beans and add them to a salad
Special Equipment
Large Pot or Dutch Oven
I always use my Lodge 6 quart dutch oven
Wooden Spoon
I like these bamboo cooking spoons – you can never have too many!
Ingredients
1 pound of dried yellow eye beans, rinsed
1 onion
2 celery stalks, rinsed
2 carrots, rinsed
2 bay leaves
10 cups of water
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Step 1
Cut the onion in half through the root. Remove the papery skin and any “hairy bits” from the root. Cut the celery and the carrots into approximately 2 inch chunks.
Step 2
Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, yellow eye beans, and water to a large pot or dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil with the lid off for 10 minutes. Cover and reduce to simmer.
Step 3
After an hour of simmering, check in on the beans and give them a stir. Do you need more water? If so, add it to the pot. Let them simmer for at least another hour.
Step 4
After the yellow eye beans have simmered for two hours, they should be softer but not yet done. Taste a bean to see how close you are. At this time, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper.
Step 5
Check on the beans every 15 minutes or so until they are cooked to your liking. It generally takes between 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours to finish.
Step 6
Once the yellow eye beans have finished cooking, remove the carrot, onion, bay leaf, and celery. Season to taste.