Smoky Saucy Black Beans, Finally Right

I've been making some version of these beans for at least two decades (I started with a recipe from the long defunct and still mourned Gourmet magazine), though they've evolved along with my palate. I've built in more flavour, nailed down my favourite additions, and the recent addition of Épices de Cru chipotle and their whole cumin has taken them into a whole new plane.

The chipotle isn't really flakes, despite what the label says. It's small nuggets of dried, smoky, mild-to-medium peppers, and they add real depth once they've had a minute in hot oil. The whole cumin is a different thing entirely from whatever's been sitting in most people's spice drawers. Toast it and it becomes considerably more intense, grind it fresh (not for this but for other recipes) and you'll be blown away. Yamasa soy sauce and Acetomodena balsamic play surprisingly well in giving the beans extra balanced depth.

A few things I've picked up that make a real difference:

Salt your beans early. There's a persistent myth that salting dried beans during cooking toughens them, and it's just wrong. Salt in the cooking water seasons the beans all the way through, and there's decent evidence that it can soften the skins slightly rather than harden them. The actual culprit behind tough beans is acid added too early, tomatoes, vinegar, citrus, which interferes with the beans breaking down properly.

Boil hard before you go gentle. I used to think that the best beans came about as a result of a slow, gentle simmer from start to finish. Then I started doing what Rancho Gordo recommends (we'd stock their beans in a heartbeat, but bringing seeds across a border presents a lot of challenges), which is to boil hard for the first few minutes before dropping to a gentle simmer. It makes a real difference in the final texture.

Reduce the liquid, not the beans. I like the liquid thick enough to coat the beans and make them saucy, which means they shouldn't be swimming in liquid at the end of the cooking time, unless you're planning to turn them into soup (in which case extra liquid is a boon and not a problem). If you end up with more liquid than you want and you're worried extra time on the heat will overcook the beans, just scoop them out with a slotted spoon, boil the liquid down on its own, then stir them back in.

And then once you've got a pot going, there's so much you can do with it. My go-to is a bowl: quinoa or rice, some greens, pan-roasted corn if I have it, avocado, and a bit of pickled red onion. They're just as good in a burrito or taco, topping "dinner nachos," or served next to eggs for huevos rancheros. Blitz a batch with some stock or water and you've got a smoky, almost-instant soup.

Smoky Saucy Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb dried black turtle beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
2 tbsp Épices de Cru chipotle chili flakes
2 tsp Épices de Cru whole cumin seeds
6-7 cups water, plus more as needed
1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
2 tbsp Acetomodena Balsamic Vinegar Nera
1 tbsp Yamasa soy sauce
Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Cover beans generously with cold water and let soak overnight.
   
   
2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle, and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
   
   
3. Drain the beans and add to the pot with 6 cups water and salt. Bring to a boil and let it boil hard for 10-15 minutes, then reduce heat, cover the pot with the lid slightly askew, and simmer gently until the beans are tender, 45-60 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level and top up with more boiling water as needed to keep the beans slightly submerged as they cook.
   
   
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavours blend. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Makes about 7 cups.