Beets -- why do mine take forever to cook?

[Anonymous]

I'm at 1 hour 20 minutes on beets that are smaller than tennis balls. And the recipes I read say things like "and after 40 mins, the skin will just peel right off." Mine never do that. I am always using a paring knife to get the skin off, and forget about only taking 40 mins. I am using farmer's market beets and making the tinfoil tent. Cooking at 400 (convection oven). Suggestions? Or do I just need to be a little more patient?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm at 1 hour 20 minutes on beets that are smaller than tennis balls. And the recipes I read say things like "and after 40 mins, the skin will just peel right off." Mine never do that. I am always using a paring knife to get the skin off, and forget about only taking 40 mins. I am using farmer's market beets and making the tinfoil tent. Cooking at 400 (convection oven). Suggestions? Or do I just need to be a little more patient?

Haha I have the exact same issue! We must be reading the same beet recipe site (if you call "put beet in over for 40 min" a recipe).

[Anonymous]

I put them in a pot with a steam tray to keep them out of water.

They're done in about 35-40min and skin comes right off.

I've never baked them. I would think the heat with no water will dehydrate them (thus making them hard to peel), no?

[Anonymous]

Use a pressure cooker. It's the best use of it I've found. Really, you can cook the beets in about 20 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put them in a pot with a steam tray to keep them out of water.

They're done in about 35-40min and skin comes right off.

I've never baked them. I would think the heat with no water will dehydrate them (thus making them hard to peel), no?

Second poster here: hmm, I'll give this a shot! They stay pretty moist in the oven, but this sounds like it will cook them a lot quicker. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Use a pressure cooker. It's the best use of it I've found. Really, you can cook the beets in about 20 minutes.

Interesting! How much water do you use?

[Anonymous]

Instead of a tent wrap them in tinfoil. Steaming is good, but boiling will work too. In a small pot, with minimal amount of water, just enough to cover them.

[Anonymous]

I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

To be clear, I rub off the skin while the water is running, mostly just to avoid staining my fingers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Use a pressure cooker. It's the best use of it I've found. Really, you can cook the beets in about 20 minutes.

Interesting! How much water do you use?

I put the vegetable steamer into the pot so they're not sitting in water, then I put in enough water so it comes up just below the steamer. Best use of the pressure cooker, hands down. (Does a great job on dried beans, too.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrap them in foil and roast at 350 for about an hour. Then when they are cool enough to touch I run them under cold water and use my fingers to kind of rub at the skin, and it comes RIGHT off. It really does. I'm a real person who cooks real beets I swear

I'm really curious about what the distinguishing variable is between your beet experience and mine (and OP's). Size maybe? All the beets I've roasted (around tennis ball size) have taken 1.5-2 hrs, and even then, the skin didn't peel right off from touch.

[Anonymous]

I scrub the dirt off, peel them, quarter them, and then steam on the stove top. Usually done in 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Recipes lie! Every roast beet recipe says 40 min and every caramelized onion recipe says 20 min. Both take 2-3 times that.

[Anonymous]

I have found covering them with water in the roasting pan makes them cook more quickly and much more evenly.

[Anonymous]

I'd try parboiling the beets b/f roasting if you're trying to shorten the amount of time.

I agree with PP recipes lie. You need to find sources that are reliable. Many of the Food Network "chefs" for example aren't really chefs but attractive talking heads.