Quick Bean Tip

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

When making baked beans, I usually start with dried Navy or Great Northern beans, though I have been known to use dried black or dried pinto beans as well.

Now there is this method called the quick cooking method, where you bring the beans to a boil, and then remove from the heat for about twenty minutes. Then you drain the beans and put into fresh water, cover and boil until the beans are tender. This usually takes about an hour and a half, depending on the beans. And often, at this stage, adding anything acidic, like tomato paste or sauce, will cause the beans to firm up into little cruchy things that can literally take several hours to soften again. It can be a real pain.

I made some baked beans using a different technique last weekend. I washed the beans and placed them into my pressure cooker, covered by about 2 inches of water. I set the pressure to 15 pounds and cooked them for 45 minutes, once the pressure rose to the 15 pound setting. The beans came out absolutely perfect in that amount of time, with no overnight soaking, or letting sit for twenty minutes after bringing to a boil. What a time saver the pressure cooker is. But you must of course follow the provided instructions for your cooker.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Gretchen]

My beans in the PC cook much quicker than 45 minutes. I would start checking after 20 minutes. Quick soak method is a great way to start.

 

[Shunka]

Goodweed, here at a high altitude, I have to use my pressure cooker or it takes 2-3 days to get beans cooked through. Forget using a crockpot for beans here!!!

 

[Constance]

I use canned beans...
I like to use a variety: pork'n beans, chili hot beans, limas, large & small, butter beans, cannelini beans, great northern beans, even crowder peas, depending on what I have on hand.