If you are as weird as I am (please say you are … please say somebody is), you may already know about this super-hot controversy over beans. To salt or not to salt?

That’s the question.

I realize it’s not a question for very many people. But for those of us who care, conventional bean wisdom says that salting dried beans during cooking will actually cause the skins to toughen, keeping the beans from reaching optimum creaminess.

And a bean that does not reach its full potential for creaminess is a tragedy, I would like you to know.

I have cooked them both ways: salting before cooking and salting after cooking. I didn’t notice much difference.

But, of course, I also didn’t conduct my “experiment” very scientifically. I just relied on my memory. And I think we all know my memory is also what causes me to call out all three of my children’s names when I want just one of them.

So I consulted all the experts available to me via Google. (This is not best practice when it comes to health diagnoses, by the way, but it’s acceptable for bean-related questions.)

What I found surprised me.

Apparently, someone out there actually did conduct bean research. What they found was that both my ways were dead wrong.

That tracks.

These folks – the bean science folks – tried soaking beans in plain water before cooking in fresh plain water or fresh salted water.

But they also tried a third way: They soaked the beans in salted water before cooking them in fresh water. And that is the method they said resulted in the best-tasting, creamiest beans.

I know you are equally stunned by this heretofore unheard-of method, dear reader. I can see you clutching your pearls right now.

Well. I had to try it, obviously.

And you know what? They were absolutely correct.

I mean, I did not even have any of the ingredients for the Cajun trinity – not even an onion, perish the thought! – but this pot of red beans and sausage turned out better than any I’d made before.

I’ll make them this way from here on out.

RED BEANS AND SAUSAGE

Yield: Enough for a small army

Ingredients:
For the beans:
1 pound dried small red beans (not kidney beans! Red beans! Do not disappoint your ancestors!)
Water
Salt

For cooking:
Water
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
1 teaspoon onion powder (or 1 onion, diced)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage (I used a green onion variety made by Country Pleasin’ and loved it.)

Directions:
■ Pour the beans into a container that will hold at least double their volume. (I use the crock of my slow cooker because extra dirty dishes do not appeal.) Sift through the beans carefully with your hands, removing any small pebbles or wonky-looking beans that may have snuck in.
■ Add enough water to cover the beans by about 1 inch. Remove and discard any beans that float to the top. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty like the ocean. Cover and let soak overnight, about 8 to 12 hours.
■ Drain and rinse the beans. Pour them into the crock of a slow cooker. Add enough fresh water to cover the beans by about one-half inch. Add the seasonings.
■ Dice the sausage into bite-size pieces; I slice mine into thin half-rounds. Add the sausage to the pot and stir well.
■ Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for about 4 hours. (I have found that cooking on high tends to result in creamier beans. I don’t know why.)
■ During the final half-hour of cooking, prepare a pot of rice. Serve the red beans and sausage over rice.
■ The beans freeze well and can be reheated directly from frozen in a saucepan.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.