What’s the best way for me to make a massive quantity of black beans and white rice without burning the contents? At Camp EPP, I made a big batch of black beans, but burned the beans on the bottom, giving it a burny flavor. I’m anticipating around 80 for the party.
If you’re going to cook beans for that many people, you’re going to need a big pot. Heavy-bottomed, if possible. The thinner the material between the food and the flame, the easier it is for the food to scorch.
When you’re cooking indoors, though, you’ve got an advantage over cooking on a campfire: easily regulated temperature. Soak your beans overnight. Then, I’d recommend sauteeing some onions and some garlic in the bottom of your pot, along with a little pepper and whatever other spices you’re using. Then, add your liquid (3-4 cups per pound of dried beans) and your beans, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and let it simmer slowly for several hours (a few small bubbles gently breaking the surface.) Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the pot at a steady simmer. Stir it regularly to keep the beans from burning to the bottom of the pan. You’ll need to stir more often as the beans get closer to finishing, because as the cooking liquid thickens, there’s less water to evaporate and the heat becomes less forgiving. If, by unfortunate chance, you do wind up having some beans scorch to the bottom of the pan, don’t scrape them off the bottom when you stir! If you leave them there, they will not have too much of an effect on the finished dish, but if you dredge them up, they will mingle with everything else, lending their bitterness to all the beans.
Have a cooking question? Email me! I’ll respond in a future post.