How to Cook Dried Cranberry Beans
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How To Cook Dried Cranberry Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried cranberry beans
- 2 carrots, cut into 1.5” chunks
- 1/2 of a large yellow or white onion, halved, outer skin removed
- 8 cups filtered water
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
- 3 bay leaves
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Rinse the beans in a large colander or strainer. Pick out anything that isn't a bean. Add the beans and at least 6 cups of water to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter for 18-24 hours.
- Transfer the soaked beans to a large colander/strainer. Then add the beans to a large pot or dutch oven. Add the carrot, onion, filtered water, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, and freshly ground black pepper
- Bring to a boil with the lid on. This will take around 10 minutes or so. Then, hard boil the beans for 15 minutes with the lid cracked open one or two inches. Remember to stir while boiling in case any beans get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and leave the lid only slight ajar, around 1/2” or so. After 5 minutes, make sure the water is still simmering. If it isn’t, turn the heat up a bit to maintain the simmer. If it is boiling, reduce the heat a bit. Set a timer for 75 minutes.
- After the timer goes off, stir the beans and remove one from the pot. Is it cooked enough? If not, continue to cook and check every 10 minutes or so to see if the beans are cooked to your liking. Once the beans are done, add the tablespoon of kosher salt and stir. Remove the beans from the heat let stand with the lid off. Remove the carrot, onion, bay leaves, and garlic.
Notes
Remember to refer to the website for more details!
Prep time: 18 to 24 hours (inactive)
Cook time: 90 minutes (up to 2 hours)
Ah, the joy of dried beans! Cooking dried cranberry beans is easy. As Kele sings in the Bloc Party song Pioneers, all you need is time.
So to learn how to cook cranberry beans, all I need is time?
Well, time and planning. Ideally you soak the beans for 24 hours, so you need to decide a day ahead of time that you would like to cook dried beans so that you can complete the arduous task of putting the beans in a bowl, covering with them with water, and leaving the beans to soak for a day. The longer the cranberry beans soak, the shorter the cooking time will be. You could cook dried beans without soaking, but the cooking time would be increased. Soaking also makes the beans easier to digest.
Beans, beans, the tropical fruit. The more you soak, the less you…
I once gifted family dried beans from Rancho Gordo for the holidays. I hope they were appreciated. Perhaps I should have included a few recipes and a how to guide. Consider this a gift to my family coming at least a year too late. Ya’ll, if you read this, here is how to cook the dried cranberry beans I gave you. Better late than never!
Servings/Suggestions
Cranberry Bean salad, perhaps even on toast!
Special Equipment
Dutch oven or large pot
Wooden cooking spoon
Ingredients
1 pound dried cranberry beans
2 carrots, cut into 1.5” chunks
or 2 stalks of celery, or both. Just use whatever you have
1/2 of a large yellow or white onion, halved, outer skin removed
8 cups filtered water
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
3 bay leaves
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Directions
Step 1
Rinse the beans in a large colander or strainer. Pick out anything that isn't a bean. Add the beans and at least 6 cups of water to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter for 18-24 hours.
Step 2
Transfer the soaked beans to a large colander/strainer. Then add the beans to a large pot or dutch oven. Add the carrot, onion, filtered water, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, and freshly ground black pepper
Step 3
Bring to a boil with the lid on. This will take around 10 minutes or so. Then, hard boil the beans for 15 minutes with the lid cracked open one or two inches. Remember to stir while boiling in case any beans get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Step 4
Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and leave the lid only slight ajar, around 1/2” or so. After 5 minutes, make sure the water is still simmering. If it isn’t, turn the heat up a bit to maintain the simmer. If it is boiling, reduce the heat a bit. Set a timer for 75 minutes.
Step 5
After the timer goes off, stir the beans and remove one from the pot. Is it cooked enough? If not, continue to cook and check every 10 minutes or so to see if the beans are cooked to your liking. Once the beans are done, add the tablespoon of kosher salt and stir. Remove the beans from the heat let stand with the lid off. Remove the carrot, onion, bay leaves, and garlic.
