Tenderizing fava bean skin without overcooking inside For the umpteenth time I'm going to give fava beans a try, never having achieved satisfactory results thus far. I love them when someone else makes them, or even the canned ones ready to eat at my local Middle Eastern store, it's just that every time so far either the skin was too hard and the inside fine (1.5-2 hrs cooking total) or the skin was tender but inside mushy (3 hrs total cooking).
I soak the beans over night, then just boil the beans alone with salt for 1-2 hrs (regular white and black beans only 30-45 min), then mix with fried onion and other stuf and cook another 45 min - 1 hr.
Is there any way to tenderize the skin without overcooking the inside of the beans?
Peel the beans after soaking.
The outer skin is very tough, and is generally intended to be removed unless you are cooking the beans to mush.
Note that favas are a mushy/crumbly bean regardless of how they are cooked.  You get the best texture by cooking them fresh.  But peeling the soaked beans should improve texture for you.