Can soup beans be improved ??

[TomHillbilly]

I'm sure most of us think we cook the best pot of soup beans--right ?  And I'm sure most us us figure it would be hard to improve on our bean cooking superiority ?  I was watching that cowboy cook on youtube once. He was fixing re-fried beans. And he put some "Mesquite" season in his beans. This I thought was unheard of, but I did it. I fixed his re-fried beans his way. It was pretty good. You can youtube it. But it made me wonder-- what would regular soup beans taste like with a little mesquite seasoning in it ?
 IN SHORT--- I've changed my old belief. Now a days, I always put some mesquite in my beans. Go kinda lite at first. I don't want you to mess up your beans. It has a fairly heavy flavor. Add a little each time, until you get the knack.
 My favorite is--- I don't clean my ham bone that good. I keep it in the freezer until bean time. I pressure it a few minutes. Then pick it clean in the broth. There will be some ham come off there still. GREAT NORTHERN  is recommend. Go lighter on the salt, because ham is salty anyways. A little pepper, and mesquite in the broth. Put your beans in, and cook. But don't share with any close neighbors. Because they will be stopping you to ask, "When you are cooking beans again ?" PS-- Baby lima, full size, and Navy, does good that way too. I generally cook a little onion with the lima also. Let me know if I lied to ya ? Don't over do the mesquite your first time. I like cranberry beans, or as hillbillies call them "October Beans", a little better than pinto. I fix them a different way, than the ham bone method with the whites. I like a pork chop in them. And don't forget the mesquite--ALL beans need it. LOL

[Shule]

Do you mean ground mesquite pods or the smoke flavor from the wood? They're both used for things. I haven't tried either, but I've heard they're good. You can get mesquite powder from nuts.com; I'm guessing it's from the pods, since it's sweet and a light color, but it doesn't say.

One thing I haven't tried, but I believe would be great would be to blend up some well-baked Jerusalem artichokes (with the skins) with some of your broth, and cook it with the beans. I just mention pre-baking since the skins add a extra earthy flavor that way, but you don't have to pre-cook them before blending.

Blended up Jerusalem artichokes are great in tomato soup and homemade ketchup. I imagine they'd add something good to beans, and/or chili, too.

We're out of ketchup. So, yesterday, I made some with home-canned tomatoes (stewed, and blended, juice and all), with several blended leftover baked Jerusalem artichokes, distilled white vinegar, salt, and mustard (the condiment; not the seed powder). I didn't taste it without the mustard, but it tasted exactly like ketchup with mustard in it (except it had an earthy aftertaste that I liked), and I liked it with the hamburgers I ate. No cloves, sugar or anything else were required.

Be careful with Jerusalem artichokes, though, since they're high in inulin (which is a prebiotic).

I personally like epazote in beans (but not everyone likes the flavor).

[karstopography]

I’m curious about the Mesquite seasoning. I’ve got a few chunks of seasoned mesquite in my bbq woods bin. I like a little mesquite wood on the fire for short cook grilling rather than low and slow smoking. Smoking meat, I like Oak, hickory and some of the fruit woods.

Wife is making lentils tonight. She puts in a teaspoon or so of dried Summer Savory in with the lentils. Summer savory really takes lentils up a notch or two in flavor. Chopped Onion, smoked sausage, a chicken bullion cube, Salt and pepper.

A lot of folks make pinto beans here. My wife and best buddy do. Both begin with soft frying some bacon or salt pork in the pot. Cumin and chili powder get added, tomatoes and green chilis also, not sure what else since I don’t make them, cilantro sometimes.

We had pinto beans at the elementary and middle school level everyday for lunch. If you ate all your beans you got seconds. I never even touched my firsts, but 90 percent of the kids ate them like they were the best things going. My parents weren’t pinto bean people so i didn’t develop a taste for them. Now, I love well seasoned pinto beans. Navy bean soup, most every bean, fresh or dried.

[worth1]

[mention]Shule[/mention]
No, the ground pods are mesquite powder aka flour from the seeds.
The Mesquite seasoning is just a blend of spices with some sort of mesquite flavor in it.
Maybe from mesquite smoked salt or something, I have no idea.
Several people make it.

Myself I dont have any one way to make beans I have so many spices I can do pretty much as I please on any given day.
My favorite bean is the mayocoba bean cooked in plain water till tender and eaten with a little salt, black pepper and a patty of butter.
They're that good.

[TomHillbilly]

Here is what I use--- other brands might be as good.
https://www.mccormick.com/grill-mates/f ... -seasoning

[worth1]

Here is what I use--- other brands might be as good.
https://www.mccormick.com/grill-mates/f ... -seasoning

I dont know why but I just knew that was the one you used.
Myself I don't have any spice mixes in the house but a kings ransom in spices I can blend and adjust as need be.
I even make my own celery salt for a fraction of the price of celery salt.
Due to your post about beans made me start a pot of mayocoba beans.
I normally soak them for 24 hours but forgot yesterday to do it, so I am doing the quick soak method.
Bring to boil for at least 10 minutes or so and turn burner off.
Let cool drain and rinse.
Put in fresh water and simmer till done.
I personally like lots of watery juice so cornbread will suck it up along with sweet relish chopped onion and ketchup.
Every kid in school ate beans this way.

[Shule]

…

Wife is making lentils tonight. She puts in a teaspoon or so of dried Summer Savory in with the lentils. Summer savory really takes lentils up a notch or two in flavor. …

… Now, I love well seasoned pinto beans. Navy bean soup, most every bean, fresh or dried.

I keep meaning to try summer savory in beans. I hear it's good. I've grown it twice and still haven't. I love summer savory. I hope I like it in beans. Thanks for the reminder, and the review of it in lentils.

I love pinto beans if they're completely soft. I don't really like much texture to my beans, but soft pinto beans are probably my favorite beans when soft. For firmer beans, I'd probably go with something else (even though I'm not into firm beans). I heard a rumor that adding baking soda can make beans get soft, faster. I imagine adding brown sugar after they've softened might remove any undesirable baking soda taste (it helps the flavor when using baking soda in baked goods).

The right peppers can really be a good addition to beans. Aji Habanero and Orange Carbonero seem to be some good choices (not necessarily at the same time). I'm sure there are lots of other great choices.

These all might be givens, but I like adding cheese to beans quite a bit. Same for saltine crackers (chili or not), garlic, and onion. A strong garlic flavor is really nice with beans: My sister makes them like that sometimes.

I can imagine that I'd love black olives in beans (since I love them with refried beans and burritos). Olives are under-used in soups, I think.

This will probably weird some people out (even though it's GRAS and people probably eat it unawares more than they think), but if I put a little bit of PermaGuard food grade diatomaceous earth in beans, it makes them taste a bit better, and makes them a lot easier for me to digest. It doesn't take much.