Made blacks beans...

[Anonymous]

Followed a food tv recipe and they are quite bland. In retrospect, I wish I had found a recipe that used bacon (or some type of pork flavor). Anyway, is there any way I can add bacon now? Render it separately and just throw it in? Or is it too late?

[Anonymous]

I don't know about bacon, but you could add more spices to liven it up. I make black beans all of the time and make sure to add a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt (along with a ton of cilantro and some garlic if I'm in the mood). If I don't put any salt in, it always tastes bland.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can add cooked pork now but it won't be the same as having cooked the beans that way. But it will help. If you do bacon, you can stir in a little bit of the bacon grease too to add flavor. Otherwise, add a bunch of seasoning to get over the blandness.

[Anonymous]

Black beans require salt. Adding it now won't be the same as cooking in bacony goodness from the beginning, but salt, pepper, and bacon will still help now.
Also, I find cumin to be a pretty essential black bean seasoning. Don't be shy with it. Also some garlic. How much is a question of personal taste.

[Anonymous]

Also, next time you cook them add 2 or 3 bay leaves and remove them before you eat.

[Anonymous]

More salt that you want to add and cumin. Saves beans every time. Also try adding onion and garlic while you cook and cilantro at the very end.

[Anonymous]

Add some liquid smoke or smoked salt?

Beans are flavor suckers. You have to add a lot more spice than you think you need to get the impact.

You could also add a bunch if a fresh herb at serving, like cilantro (presuming you aren't one of the people with the cilantro-tastes-like-soap gene) . Or a squeeze of lemon or one, depending on what spices you used.

[Anonymous]

You could stir in some salsa.

[Anonymous]

More salt that you want to add and cumin. Saves beans every time. Also try adding onion and garlic while you cook and cilantro at the very end.

Will you come over and make some beans for me? How are you at making tortillas?

[Anonymous]

add a smoked seasoning spice like this
http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/149

or a hickory smoked meat spice. One way we like black beans is:
light sear on red onion, diced peppers
add corn, beans
seasoning

lime juice plus honey with chopped green onion

[Anonymous]

Just a handy tip for the future, any recipe you read, just plan on quadrupling the amount of seasoning required. I have no idea why but following recipes to the tee in seasoning always leads to bland food. 1 tsp salt for a pot of beans? Girl bye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

More salt that you want to add and cumin. Saves beans every time. Also try adding onion and garlic while you cook and cilantro at the very end.

Will you come over and make some beans for me? How are you at making tortillas?

My tortillas rock. How'd you know? Bacon ends in the beans are good, too.

[Anonymous]

My tortillas rock. How'd you know? Bacon ends in the beans are good, too.

The cilantro at the end. I bet you also fry a mean milanesa.

[Anonymous]

Next time add oregano too, that's my secret ingredient.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about adding bacon, but I always use salt, cumin, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. Sometimes I add salsa.