My Beans are FLAMING Hot!

[Kim Shook]

I made my green beans like I normally do - salt pork, pepper, a little crushed red pepper, a little hot sauce - boiled like hell for an hour and then simmered for a few more. They are hot as fire. Mr. Kim loves them, but I won't be able to manage them. Is there anyway to reverse the heat? Can I boil them in more plain water (my poor firey pot likker)? Will that help? Or do I just get to have frozen butter beans tonight while Mr. Kim makes mmmmmmmm sounds over the green beans ?

[HungryC]

Best way I know to reduce the heat in any dish is to make another batch (or half-batch) without any heat and combine the two. One's relative blandness will help to tone down the other. 'Course, you're gonna end up with a big mess of beans....

[C. sapidus]

Sometimes a little sugar tames the heat. Adding just enough sugar to round out the taste, but not so much that the beans are overtly sweet, might make them tolerable.

Otherwise, what about mixing the beans with cubed potatoes? Instead of boiling in plain water, what about replacing some of the liquid with chicken stock?

Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

[heidih]

This is probably way too late of a response, but what about adding either coconut milk or cream or half & half. I think you have said you need to watch the starchy carbs, but maybe the creamy stuff will work for you.

[Kim Shook]

Thanks, all! I used a little sugar and chicken stock like you suggested. I changed out the chicken stock a couple of times and it worked fine, but I boiled all the sidemeat flavor out too! So I cut another piece of sidemeat, stuck it in the microwave to get it going and boiled it with the beans for awhile and they tasted fine. Thank you for your help, folks!

[chileheadmike]

Carrots will reduce heat as well.