Recipes What's Cookin'?

Ivan · Feb 18, 2026

Pete Thomas said:
They should always be soaked or you will die a horrible unsoaked bean death.

You Don't Soak

You Croak

Grumps · Feb 19, 2026

PigSquealer said:
Directly into the pot or do you soak them for a while ?

Directly in the pressure cooker pot dry, then you add water. The combined water/bean level should be about eight cups if using a one pound bag of dry beans. Then you add the ham hock and other ingredients on high pressure for thirty-five minutes.

If I'm making a chili, I'll soak the dry beans overnight and then simmer an hour or two to soften them, adding them to the chili near the end. But for red beans and rice, black beans w/ Mexican food or navy and/or pinto for baked beans, all those recipes of mine go in the pressure cooker dry with liquid, vegies, spices and most importantly; a ham hock.

PigSquealer · Feb 19, 2026

Maybe the pressure cooker makes the difference ? I’ve never made anything with dry beans that I didn’t soak first.

thomsax · Feb 19, 2026

Grumps said:
Funny, but I was never a red rice and beans fan

I like the song but don't like to eat beans. Red, white, brown, black ..... Red Beans with Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson and Sax Gordon.

View: https://youtu.be/6NFYjwEp66E?si=HTTFKPDevk4erfM7

Grumps · Feb 19, 2026

PigSquealer said:
Maybe the pressure cooker makes the difference ? I’ve never made anything with dry beans that I didn’t soak first.

If you cook dry beans in a pressure cooker, you don't have to soak them. You just have to have the right ratio of liquid to beans as set forth above. I only soak beans overnight for the next day if not using a pressure cooker.

Jimmymack · Feb 19, 2026

Grump technique might well work but I remember making a Chili con carne without soaking the beans and I remember the pain to this day, 40 years later. Soak your beans or do it Grumps style or live to regret it.

Grumps · Feb 20, 2026

Jimmymack said:
Grump technique might well work...

No. It works. Period. I bought a pressure cooker some years ago on a whim, as it was a freebie with points from a card or something. The new ones can be safely operated as compared to the things that used to blow up back in the day. I can make a beef stew, starting with chuck roast and it will be as tender as tender can be with just over fifteen minutes cooking time (and somewhat longer for depressurizing. Beans take just over thirty minutes to soften in a pressure cooker.

Jules · Feb 20, 2026

A small paella with clams and chorizo half way through cooking down. Various forms of paella are a bit of a signature dish round here...

skeller047 · Feb 20, 2026

Tried a new approach to cooking a steak last night. Stainless steel pan on medium heat. The pan should be tested like a pancake griddle - drops of water dance. Hotter, water flashes off, colder it just sits there and bubbles.

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (or no oil if the beef is well marbled, like Wagyu). Put the steak in the pan, no seasoning, it will stick. Wait until it unsticks, which it will do in 4-6 minutes. Flip it and do the other side the same way. For a 1 inch New York steak that is rare to medium rare right there. Thicker steaks need a few more minutes, flipping 30 seconds per side until you get the right doneness.

Put it on a plate to rest, season with salt, pepper, herbs and butter if you like. Let it rest 10 minutes. Mmmmmmmm…..

Medium heat is the key. The smoke detector won’t complain. Neither will your mouth.

I’d post a picture but it’s gone.

Ivan · Feb 20, 2026

Jimmymack said:
I remember the pain to this day

Pain due to?

PigSquealer · Feb 21, 2026

Ivan said:
Pain due to?

Hydrogen gas. It’s a thing🤢

PigSquealer · Feb 21, 2026

skeller047 said:
Tried a new approach to cooking a steak last night. Stainless steel pan on medium heat. The pan should be tested like a pancake griddle - drops of water dance. Hotter, water flashes off, colder it just sits there and bubbles.

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (or no oil if the beef is well marbled, like Wagyu). Put the steak in the pan, no seasoning, it will stick. Wait until it unsticks, which it will do in 4-6 minutes. Flip it and do the other side the same way. For a 1 inch New York steak that is rare to medium rare right there. Thicker steaks need a few more minutes, flipping 30 seconds per side until you get the right doneness.

Put it on a plate to rest, season with salt, pepper, herbs and butter if you like. Let it rest 10 minutes. Mmmmmmmm…..

Medium heat is the key. The smoke detector won’t complain. Neither will your mouth.

I’d post a picture but it’s gone.

And you didn’t even invite me for testing !
Yeah, heat and SS cookware has a learning curve. I’ve come to realize that the ware is really good ! I have a 7 piece full set.
A different style than cast iron or aluminum Teflon coating. A skillet in SS makes some really good stuff. Heat control needs to be learned. Welding Zucchini to stainless steel is easy at first ! Temperature control and water, olive oil, butter, Ghee or lard is a thing.
Cast iron is a completely different skill set. Patience and skill to what you’re doing with it. Rolls or peppers and veggies?
Non-stick aluminum has no flavor. Meh 🫤

Ivan · Feb 21, 2026

PigSquealer said:
Hydrogen gas. It’s a thing🤢

Jerusalem artichokes are the most flatogenic thing I've eaten...

Targa · Feb 21, 2026

Ivan said:
Jerusalem artichokes are the most flatogenic thing I've eaten...

Question being why were you eating those disgusting little wizened monkey brains in the first place?

thomsax · Feb 21, 2026

PigSquealer said:
Maybe the pressure cooker makes the difference ? I’ve never made anything with dry beans that I didn’t soak first.

The advantage of to soak beans before cooking is that you get even cooking and shorter cooking time. You can reduce the cooking-time by using a preesure cooker, as Grumps do. But you loose the advantage to flavor while cooking when we use a pressure cooker. When soaking dried beans you get rid of indigestible carbohydrates (diet fiber) fytic acid and lectins. Fyctic acid in beans can bind minerals like iron, calcium, zinc ... which means that these minerarls makes it harder for the body to absorb. I can live this it's just to compensate. Lectins can be difficult for the body to break down and can cause stomach problems and inflammation in the intestines. Beans should soak "over the night". Karl Marx = 8 hours. So 8 hours or longer. Before soaking, rinse in two waters to get rid of dirt.