How do I make my own Black Beans?

for me, I just boil them and then add to whatever dish I want and they kind of take on that flavor. Occasionally will add a little beef bouillion but again have to be aware of sodium but in a large batch with just little boullion probably wouldn't be too bad.

BTW - I tried cooking them with chicken one time and they turned the chicken this really dark gray color.....couldn't eat the chicken just didn't seem right even though I knew there was nothing wrong with it.

Good luck and hope you get more advice

Hi,

Are you looking for recipes that use black beans, or do you need to find out how to take the dried, rock-hard beans into something you can actually eat, so you can use those in recipes that you already have, but can't make without a replacement for the canned beans?

I've cooked different types of dry beans from scratch, but haven't done black beans yet! May have to try that one of these days.

I've read that the soaking is convenient for quicker cooking time, but absolutely necessary. Don't know if it varies from bean to bean.

I don't have a recipe, but when I cook my beans I usually use onion, which you don't want, so just leave it out, and start by sauteing some chopped celery, grated carrot, toss in some crushed garlic in olive oil (bacon fat would be tasty, but then you have the sodium issue, and of course, it's bacon fat! For kick you could add some red pepper flakes. Or a can of diced green chiles. A few tablespoons of tomato paste in with the veggies can add a good kick of flavor too. Then add the beans and cover with either water or low sodium chicken or veggie broth. A bay leaf or two would also add some nice flavor.

Cover and cook until beans are tender! This is just off the top of my head - maybe you can try some small batches and experiment with what gives you the best flavor.

I cook my own beans all the time and keep them in the freezer.

Soaking them 8 hours or over night is a must for best texture after cooking. Rinse the beans in cold water and put them in the slow cooker cover with cold water on high for first 30 minutes then low and let them cook all day.
I've tried the stove top method and the beans always got grainy or they just fell apart so I don't recommend that way.

I don't put anything in my beans while cooking because I don't want added sodium.
After they cool I put them in ziploc bags lay them flat on a sheet pan to freeze. Then I put the small bags into a gallon size bag and keep them in the freezer. Don't forget to label name and date.