Be sure your beans are fresh - that's the best guarantee. Then, I soak them overnight at least - sometimes two days. I have great success with beans being creamy and tender.
Ensure you have fresh dried beans. Purchase in a farmer's market or in bulk from an establishment place high turnover. Rinse beans, cover and bring to boil for about 5 minutes. Let sit for one hour uncovered. Bring back to boil for 3 - 5 minutes, skim foam, and add aromatics such as peppercorns, onion, bay leaves etc. Do not add salt yet. Simmer for about 1 hour, or until soft. When soft add salt and simmer for more time.
The source of hard beans is stale beans, adding salt too soon and cooking too rapidly.
Avoid conventional wisdom about pre-soaking your dried beans overnight and then discarding the liquid. You lose the starch that can contribute to that creamy pot of beans, and it doesn't actually change the total cooking time by that much. Kenji Alt-Lopez published a nice article on this (specific to,black beans, but it should be generally applicable advice) on Seriouseats.com.
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The source of hard beans is stale beans, adding salt too soon and cooking too rapidly.