Best Chef Johns Sandy Beans Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S BEANS AND GREENS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until bubbling and sizzling, about 20 seconds. Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes.
• Stir in beans; bring to a boil and cook until you can see the tops of the beans just below the surface of the liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in oregano, lemon zest, and anchovy filet. Simmer for 3 minutes.
• Place escarole in bean mixture; reduce heat to low and stir until escarole wilts, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; garnish with red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil.

CHEF JOHN'S SANTA MARIA-STYLE BEANS

Steps:

• Place pink beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
• Place drained beans in a stockpot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook until almost completely tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
• While beans are simmering, cook and stir bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until cooked through but not crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add ham; cook and stir until ham is heated through, about 1 minute. Stir garlic into ham mixture and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, ketchup, sugar, dry mustard, paprika, chili powder, salt, chipotle chile powder, and oregano. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
• Drain beans, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Combine beans, reserved liquid, and tomato mixture in the beans stockpot; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and mixture has thickened, about 30 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S REFRIED BEANS

Steps:

• Drain soaked beans and transfer them to a stock pot. Add garlic, epazote, and cold water. Place pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered until beans are soft, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain the beans and reserve all the liquid.
• Melt lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and salt; cook until onions start to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in serrano pepper and chipotle powder; cook 1 minute. Transfer drained beans into skillet. Mash about half the beans with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Ladle some bean cooking liquid to skillet. Continue to mash and stir beans as you gradually add more liquid. Mash until the beans have reached your preferred consistency and texture. Taste and add more salt, if desired.

CHEF JOHN'S CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Mix mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne together in a bowl to make the sauce.
• Trim off ends of bread. Cut loaf in half and evenly split bread to make tops and bottoms of 2 sandwiches. Spread each half on both sides generously with the mayo/mustard sauce.
• Divide sandwich ingredients between the two bottom halves in this order: 2 slices Swiss cheese, 3 slices ham, hot cooked pork, pickle slices, and 2 more slices of Swiss cheese. Place tops on sandwiches.
• Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place sandwiches in skillet and press down with a heavy weight (such as another skillet or foil-wrapped bricks). Toast sandwiches until bread is crisp and filling is heated through, 3 or 4 minutes per side.

CHEF JOHN'S SANDY BEANS

Steps:

• Heat garlic olive oil, bread crumbs, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir until mixture resembles wet sand and is fragrant, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in remaining Parmesan cheese; cook and stir until golden brown and crunchy, about 1 minute more. Transfer bread crumbs to a plate.
• Return skillet to heat; cook and stir white beans, olive oil, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and salt in hot skillet until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir parsley and breadcrumbs to taste into beans; toss to coat.

THE BEST BARBECUE BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Add dry beans to a bowl, cover with water, and let soak for 8 hours, or overnight.
• Drain beans and transfer to a large pot filled with 3 quarts of cold, fresh water. Add bay leaf, pork shoulder, and onion. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir. Skim off foam if desired. Let simmer until beans are just tender, about 1 hour.
• While beans simmer, combine barbecue sauce, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, cayenne, black pepper, kosher salt, and garlic powder in a bowl with a whisk. Set aside until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Transfer tender bean mixture to a deep, 15x10-inch baking dish using a spider strainer. Pour in barbecue sauce mixture and 2 ½ cups of the bean cooking liquid. Place bacon slices on top.
• Bake uncovered in the center of the preheated oven until the liquids have reduced into a thick sauce, 2 to 3 hours.