Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Open the cans and rinse the beans well in a colander. Rinse them more than you think you need to.
- Put them in a large heavy pot.
- Add the whole stick of butter.
- Add 1 tbsp Nature's Seasoning. Do not add more yet.
- Bring up to a simmer, then cook uncovered and let them start reducing.
- Once the liquid is nearly gone, turn the heat down and keep cooking slowly.
- Let them go another 30 to 45 minutes until they start caramelizing on the bottom of the pot.
- Watch them closely at this stage. You want color, not burn. Do not turn the heat up.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper at the very end.
- Lid on and hold on warm until supper.
Notes
Rinse The Cans Well
Canned green beans carry a tinny, salty liquid that will follow them all the way through the cooking. Rinse them well and you start from a clean, plain bean that will take on the butter and seasoning instead of fighting it.
The Caramelizing is the Whole Point
These are already cooked coming out of the can. Everything good happens in the last 30 to 45 minutes, when the liquid is gone and the beans start browning on
the bottom of the pot. That is where they stop tasting canned. Low heat only - this is where people burn them. Good to Know
the bottom of the pot. That is where they stop tasting canned. Low heat only - this is where people burn them. Good to Know
- Season light at the start. They cook way down, and whatever you put in gets concentrated.
- A heavy pot matters here. Thin pots scorch before the beans ever color.
- Do not stir constantly at the end. They need contact with the bottom to brown.
- For 6 people instead of 15, use 3 cans, 1/3 stick butter and 1 tsp Nature's Seasoning.
- These reheat better than almost anything else on the table.