![\"Cowboy](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.amyglaze.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/IMG_0854.jpg\" "\\"Cattle")
<\/a><\/p>\nCowboy Up Cattle Beans. Photography by Jay Jackson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Cattle beans are some of my favorite because they are black & white and keep their color when cooked. They are great in stews and soups or served with a smokey-spicy light tomato broth as a full side dish. It’s hard to describe bean flavor but I think nutty and meaty would be my best effort. I used some of Farm Manager Suzie Trexler’s pickled watermelon radish, and carrot around the beans for color.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of people out there who will tell you that soaking beans overnight isn’t necessary especially if they are freshly dried (two years is considered “fresh” for dry beans). I’m going to tell you the opposite: every time I have not<\/em> soaked beans beforehand they take much longer to cook, the skins break, and they cause gastro-intesinal problems. Seriously. \u00a0It’s also easier to see how much you are working with after they have plumped up. Guesstimating beans for a huge event is always a problem because some beans look small and then quadruple in size and others stay roughly the same. These cattle beans tripled in size.<\/p>\n I cooked these beans the day before the pig roas<\/a>t in a vegetable broth with thyme and bay leaf. To reheat I strained the liquid, brought it to a boil, and added more seasoning: ground dry guajillo chilis (you can sub guajillo powder), smoked Hungarian sweet paprika, cumin, tomato sauce, salt, and ground coriander to taste. Then I poured the ranchero flavored liquid over the beans and brought the whole pot to a low simmer before serving.<\/p>\n I was cooking for 75 people and needed burner space the day of but they can be made in one go. This was a big hit and an unusually beautiful one with the pickled veg.<\/p>\n A word of advice on cooking beans: do not salt your cooking liquid in the beginning of the process. It can change the texture of the bean and also the salinity can mysteriously disappear and then reappear. Beans will soak up the salt from the water and if you just taste the water (and not the bean) during the cooking process you will continue to add more salt. When the beans are soft enough to taste you will be disappointed. I lightly salt the bean liquid mid way through the cooking process and then adjust seasoning at the end.<\/p>\n More Pig Roast Sides and Pictures…<\/p>\n How to Roast a Pig on a Spit<\/a><\/p>\n Smoked Potato Salad with Tarragon and Hard Cooked Egg<\/a><\/p>\n Dragon Lingerie Succotash & Hot Bacon Vinaigrette<\/a><\/p>\n Saut\u00e9ed Greens with Pine Nuts and Red Spring Onion<\/a><\/p>\n