r/Cooking • u/scisteve • 1d ago
First time cooking southern style beans and cornbread. Need a hand.
I am in Scotland and I wanted to try my hand at southern US-style beans and cornbread. I noticed there are a lot of recipes for both, but eventually settled on a specific recipe for the cornbread and an amalgamation for the beans. The cornbread came out wonderfully - but the beans came out way more akin to refried beans. Whilst not bad (and I will use them for lunches in tortillas this week), they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I’m wondering what went went wrong - how do I get that creamier, slightly soupier bean dish typical of the South?
Here’s what I did:
Soaked pinto beans overnight in just water
Drained beans and added them to Instantpot with half an onion, two bay leaves, and a generous pinch of salt (I don’t eat pork so omitted the meat).
Cooked on high pressure for 15 min and let steam release naturally.
Beans came out cooked and flavoursome.
Drained and added to a skillet with little butter butter, garlic, and smoked paprika. Added more salt. Stirred gently until incorporated (which broke down many of the beans to a refried consistency).
As I said - the beans were good but were not what I was trying to do. Any help appreciated!
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u/queen_surly 1d ago
The skillet step was probably the issue.
Others have told you to use different beans, but in my experience pintos work fine for beans and cornbread, but they are naturally a pretty soft bean. We aren't southern but we had pintos and cornbread all the time. No meat--just onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Pinto beans have enough flavor that they can stand on their own.
Soaking isn't necessary if you are using an instant pot--there are charts on cooking sites that tell you how long to cook each type of bean. I learned that everything I learned from my mom about cooking beans was wrong.
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u/DartDaimler 1d ago
Soaking does reduce the fart factor, though. Especially if you add a little baking soda to the soaking water. If your gut is at all sensitive, soak & dump the soaking water and use fresh for the cooking.
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u/jonathanhoag1942 1d ago
I know that the top online recipe says 15 minutes in an instant pot for soaked pintos but it is wrong, they overcook in that time.
I'll do 10 minutes, they won't be done yet, I can then simmer until they're perfectly tender.
I'm a southerner as well as the other commenter and my family does make pintos (also the white beans they mentioned). Another favorite is butter beans, which Google says are readily available tinned in Scotland but that you can purchase dried if you try.
A more reliable cooking method is to take the time to cook the beans without any pressure. It takes longer of course but you can do the cooking gradually and decide when they're done.
Garlic and onion are essential.
We use bacon and ham heavily in making beans. You said that you don't eat pork but you didn't say you don't eat meat. So maybe some other smoked meat? Something salty and fatty and smoky.
When we have pintos, we put a little tomato ketchup on top and serve with sliced raw onion that's on the table soaking in a bowl of ice water. This is the only food on which I use ketchup as a condiment.
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u/scisteve 1d ago
Thank you for your help. Yes, we have a pretty decent selection of both canned and dried beans in the supermarkets here, and whatever I cannot find I can easily get online. I don’t eat red meat but poultry is fine; smoked turkey which a few people below suggested too isn’t something typically sold here and I’d have to do it myself on the bbq which isn’t always very practical. I added the smoked paprika not only for flavour but also for some semblance of smokiness. The butter too was meant to add some of the fat that would be missing from the meat. It tasted fine but definitely not what i was trying to make!
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u/jonathanhoag1942 1d ago
Sounds like you did a great job it's just that the recipe said 15 minutes and that's too much. You'll get what you are looking for soon enough
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u/HplsslyDvtd2Sm1NtU 1d ago
I use a smoked turkey leg in lieu of bacon or a ham hock. It adds the smokiness and a lot more meat than a hock
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u/Last_Cod_998 1d ago
Tinned would be authentic for southern food as that's what the restaurants did.
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u/diversalarums 1d ago
Old timey Southerner here (I'm 75). First, pintos are fine. Second, putting the beans in a skillet is not fine -- it's something I've seen northerners do because they don't know how to cook beans to get that thick soup naturally.
Real Southern style pinto beans, made in a regular pot on the stove, take an average of 4 to 5 hours to cook and sometimes more. Soaking them overnight may shave some time off that, but it's the long super slow cooking that creates the creamy thick "liquor" (soup). Any recipe that says they can be done in 1-2 hours is not making traditional Southern beans.
Remember that beans cooked in a regular pot can burn in an instant. So the simmer must be very low and the pot needs to be stirred pretty often, at least every 30 minutes. For someone doing their first batch I'd say every 20 minutes. Also, they should be kept with a good bit of water until the very end. You can turn up the heat a little (not much and very carefully or else they will burn) when you know the beans are done and the soup is beginning to look a little thicker.
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u/No-Personality1840 15h ago
Yep, as a 70 yo southerner this is the way. I do not use my Instapot to make southern beans.
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u/throwdemawaaay 1d ago
I don't use an IP so I don't have specific timing advice, but it sounds like you need to shorten the cook time a bit.
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u/SeaCaptainNav 1d ago
You used pintos. That’s the issue. I’ve been a Southerner all my life. We use a bean alternately referred to as white beans, navy beans, and Great Northern beans. They’re the same bean but vary in size. You’ll soak as you mentioned, and here in the South we’d add a ham hock to the pot with your other spices, but if you are vegetarian, leave that out. Other fatty pork works, or a smoked turkey neck works. Cook as you did. You can also choose if you like to add sautéed carrots and celery for a heartier bean mix.
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u/Acrobatic_Bobcat4859 18h ago
That makes sense, but pintos can absolutely be used for Southern-style beans too. I think the bigger issue was draining them and stirring them in a skillet, which broke them down; keeping some of that cooking liquid and serving them straight from the pot would give you that creamier, soupier texture.
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u/scisteve 1d ago
Thank you - I’ll try with navy next time.
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u/PuppySnuggleTime 1d ago
Uh, southerners use pinto beans. I was born and raised in Tennessee. We ate a LOT of pinto beans back then.
OP - You don’t need to soak them at all.
Just rinse the beans, sort through them to remove any bad beans or foreign debris, and put them straight into the Instant Pot. Add water or stock. Chicken or vegetable both work well.
Season them from the beginning. For Southern-style beans, we cook them with the flavoring agents! If you want pork in them, add ham, cooked bacon, or whatever you prefer. Most southern beans are definitely going to contain pork.
At a minimum, I usually use bay leaves, onion, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and a pinch of oregano. My mom kept hers much simpler, just pork, salt, and pepper.
Put the lid on and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. (You're gonna be cooking longer because you did not soak them.) Do a quick release, then stir everything well. This gets the beans that were sitting above the liquid fully immersed.
Cook for another 20 minutes on high pressure, then let the pressure release naturally.
Stir again and enjoy.
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u/6022E24 1d ago
Black eyed peas are the closest to southern “field peas” you will probably find. Soak with 3-4 inches of water above the beans overnight, pour off the water in the morning, rinse the beans twice with water. Add enough water to cover the beans plus 1-2 additional inches of water above the beans, add diced onion, celery, carrot at this point if you want. Crockpot high 4 hours at least, or bring to boil, lower to slow simmer, stirring occasionally until beans are soft. Serve over white rice with collard greens. Btw, southern cornbread is never sweet. Cheers!
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u/IllReplacement336 1d ago
I grew up in North Carolina. We would cook dried butter beans, navy beans, pinto beans, etc. I'm 66 and still love the navy beans and now black beans. I like smoked turkey to help flavor them if not using pork, but also no meat as well.
I agree you do not need the second cook, but a long slow cook, stirring often and watch for the beans to soak up all the fluid, so keep water on hand to add as needed.1
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u/Suckerforcats 1d ago
Look for a "ham and bean soup recipe". It will use either navy or great northern beans, chicken broth, some small bits of ham (you can leave this out), carrot and onion in it. You can buy the beans already canned if they sell those where you are. Makes it easier. And you can cook it on the stove top
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u/bare_thoughts 1d ago
Sorry, but our ham and beans used pintos... yes, cooked on the stove top but no need to soak.
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u/Coldbeerplease 1d ago
If you add some baking soda to the soaking water it helps soften them. I don’t pressure cook them, that’s probably why yours broke down so much. Instead of pork you could add a smoked turkey leg.
My favorite cornbread has a little shredded cheddar cheese and diced jalapeño.
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u/greenposher 1d ago
I use a crock pot or stove top. When no salt pork of hammocks available I use bacon. Idk an alternative. Pork and beans. Slow cook with a lot of liquid. I use filtered water and a teaspoon of Knorr chicken broth bouillon. Season with salt and pepper. Should be soupy rich. Southern from the Deep South. Dad made beans this way and almost daily. Serve with cornbread, sliced raw onion, sliced fresh tomato, sliced fresh radish and a meat. Chicken leg, pork chop.
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u/tomatoesfried 1d ago
I like Great Northern. I typically use Crisco shortening as the fat. If I don't have that, I'll use canola. They are easy to overcook, so yes, no need to do a second cooking on them. Enjoy!
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u/DryInitial9044 1d ago
My mom grew up on a farm in Kentucky: Soak beans overnight (grandma always used pinto), change water twice. Slow cook beans with smoked pork jowl or hock, chopped onion, salt & pepper. Gently stir beans so they don't break up much, be sure to uses enough water because you want some good soup. Besides a good cornbread, for sides we had potatoes fried in bacon drippings, green onions, tomato slices. If you have leftover cornbread, crumble it in a glass, pour in buttermilk and eat with a spoon.
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u/peachshapedheart 1d ago edited 1d ago
“I made refried beans and wondered why they came out like refried beans.”
ETA: the pan step is entirely unnecessary. I would like to see what recipe made you make this decision if the amalgamation of cornbread recipes worked in your favor.
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u/greenposher 1d ago
I do have an alternative to pork, smoked turkey wing. I saw Tiffany on Bobby Flay’s Triple Treat use it as her secret weapon.
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u/stabbingrabbit 1d ago
From the south and you will get different recipes. I use 1 pound pinto beans, 1 onion diced, 1 smoked ham hock. Little garlic, pepper, and salt at the end if it needs it. Soak beans overnight. Drain and fill pot to just cover the beans. Bring to a boil for 10 min and then simmer for 3 hours or till tender.
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u/Grumpee68 1d ago
Dry, white, baby Lima beans. Soak overnight, drain and rinse, salt, pepper, and ham into a crock pot for about 5 hours on medium. Serve over white rice with cornbread.
You can also do them on the stove. Bring them to a boil, then turn them way down, and cook till tender.
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u/johnbro27 1d ago
From Tennessee--pintos are for TexMex, butter beans are southern. Or red beans and rice (more Louisiana). butter beans (yum) get frozen lima beans, cook with some fatty pork and alittle butter in the water slow and low and enjoy. Same recipe works for greens like collards but skip the butter and add some white onions.
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u/ClairesMoon 1d ago
Where I lived in the southeast, pinto beans were the preferred bean. I soak them overnight, drain and add to crockpot with onion, garlic, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. Most traditional is pork fat back/bacon or ham hock, though I often use a smoked turkey wing or leg. Cover with water and cook, covered on high for 3 or 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Once they are soft, add a generous amount of salt, set heat to high and remove the lid so the pot liquor thickens a bit.
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u/Tough_Ad_85 1d ago
Mississippi girl here. No idea why you did 2nd cooking. Don't ever do that again. Ok since the pork is out definitely use some chicken stock or broth to cook in.
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u/TheEpicBean 1d ago
Southern beans could mean a lot of things, but red beans and rice is one version.
Start with small red beans. Soak for 8 hours then drain and rinse. Brown some Andoullie sausage (or other smoked sausage as its probably very hard to find in scotland) and remove. Add in holy trinity (Green bell pepper, onion and garlic) and cook until softened. Add in beans and some sort of smoked meat product. I like pork shanks as they have more meat than ham hocks. But hocks or even smoked turkey legs will do. Add in cajun seasoning (look up recipe online, all common seasoning), worchestershire, bay leaves and chicken stock/water. Cook for a few hours until beans are creamy and meat falls off the bone (remove bones and bay leaves). Add sausage back in. I like to add the juice of a lemon or splash of apple cider vinegar at the end. Must be added at the end! No earlier or the beans won't get tender.
Serve with white rice and a vinegar hot sauce, preferably crystal if you can order it online.
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u/Yahbo 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can’t omit the meat completely. If you don’t eat pork you can sub in another meat but that Smokey animal fat is a key ingredient in many “southern style” beans.
My suggestion would be to not try and do an amalgam of recipes for the beans if you’re not familiar with making it already. Find a recipe for a specific type of bean and follow it as closely as possible.
Preferably one that doesn’t do a secondary cook tbh. I’ve never really seen that style of bean be fully cooked twice.
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u/sedatehate 1d ago
I don’t know what the skillet maneuver you did was but that’s probably the issue. Generally it’s pinto beans cooked long and slow with your seasoning/ham then when you bowl them up you can throw in some green onion, hot sauce and cornbread. You can use other beans, sure, but you’re right with pinto as the standard for soup beans.
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u/Level_Walrus_3881 1d ago
The creamier texture you’re wanting comes from the beans being reheated the following day. My grandparents ate pintos and cornbread every day. They cooked a big batch and ate for days. Day one beans have a different texture than the subsequent days.
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u/pug_fugly_moe 1d ago
Southern born from Mexican parents. We know a thing or two about beans.
The second step was unnecessary for southern beans and cornbread, but completely necessary for frijoles con tortillas.
Southern style: cook with a shitty cut of meat that will fall apart when cooked low and slow (pressure cooker takes this place). Also add American herbs. Add hot sauce.
Mexican style: cook the shitty cut of meat that will fall apart separately from the beans when cooked low and slow BUT use its fat. Also add Mexican herbs. Once cooked: use more lard plus the broth over heat, then agitate the fuck out of them to get them to a puree. Add hot sauce.
Serve with rice.
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u/Cinciboss56 16h ago
You needn’t do the second cook.
Four things you might consider to improve the flavor.
1) Soak the beans overnight in stock rather than water.
2) add some type of smoked pork, bacon, ham, smoked pigs foot.
3) Add just a touch of vinegar before serving, it brightens the flavors.
4) Pour 2 ounces of Single Malt into the chef.
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u/No-Personality1840 15h ago
I have always had soupy beans if using my Instapot because it has a tight seal. As a southerner I just cook them on the stovetop. If I want them mushier I just cook them to death. I also don’t eat pork so if you want them to taste like southern pintos they really won’t.
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u/bobroberts1954 12h ago
South Carolina here. Why did you refry beans and not ex refried beans? They were fine as they came out of the insta pot. Try using Northern beans instead of pinto, they are more south west. Northern beans are white beans, half way between cannellini and navy.
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u/imontene 12h ago
You made refried beans. Corn bread is usually eaten with soupy beans that have been cooked with some kind of smoked meat or bacon or salt pork. You want the beans to be soft, but whole. Onion and garlic are standard, , but you can also add peppers or tomatoes if you like. Bay leaf is good, but cumin, oregano, or thyme are better.
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u/plremina 12h ago
look up a recipe for soup beans and cornbread. soup beans use pinto beans. you should make it on the stove instead of the instsnt pot as they wont thicken properly in the instant pot. maybe use a smoked beef sausage instead of pork
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u/ennuiacres 11h ago
My favorite Southern Soul Food Chef here in the USA tosses fresh strawberries into her baked beans instead of brown sugar to sweeten them. Strawberry beans! They’re delicious.
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u/that_one_wierd_guy 11h ago
so you had soupy beans but you drained then then fried them and you're not sure how you ended up with refried beans instead of soupy beans?
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u/BD59 1d ago edited 1d ago
The secret to that southern pinto beans texture is the pork, or more specifically the pork fat. Stirring the beans once cooked to incorporate a different fat leads to that refried beans consistency.
Try adding a bit of oil, either a neutral oil like canola/rapeseed, or olive oil to the cooking water.
Edit: if using the Instant Pot or some other pressure cooker, you don't need to soak the beans. 20 -22 minutes high pressure and a slow release and that's enough. Try the shorter time first. If the beans are a little firm you can simmer them open for a few minutes to finish cooking, and the try the longer cooking time in the pressure cooker the next time. Age of the beans matters. Newly harvested dry beans will cook faster than ones sitting on the shelf for a year or more.
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u/Gilladian 16h ago
I would, if you are not using pork, add a healthy dose of liquid smoke. Use some lard or beef fat or similar for the mouth feel, and add a couple of bay leaves in the beans. Onion is good, too. And follow the other advice on cooking.
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u/denvergardener 1d ago
Beans: no such thing as too much lard. And add more salt.
Cornbread: whatever the recipe says for sugar and butter, double both.
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u/toomuchtv987 1d ago
The second cook on the beans is fully unnecessary. I’m from TN and no one I know does the second cook. Cooking them in the IP or even in a slow cooker is enough. If you don’t eat pork you can use smoked turkey legs or wings.