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Looking for baked bean tips from dry beans

4K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  Oldeyes 
#1 ·
Hey all,
My baked beans are awesome, but I've never started with dry beans. Always started with canned beans and dressed them up. Looking for something I can cook in large batches, making at least 7# at a time. I do this for church once or twice a month. Sometimes like today making a double batch.

Basically each batch is: 7# canned beans drained. 1/2# smoked Apple wood bacon cooked crispy and diced, 1/2 sweet onion diced and cooked with bacon. For the sauce I use 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2T water and 1 T yellow mustard - mixed together and nuked for 30 seconds. Mix it all together including the grease drippings and bake for an hour at 325F.

Thanks.

BTW: I don't have a pressure cooker...yet!
 
#2 ·
I sometimes start with dry bean, no soak. I believe an overnight soak does make better beans. So soak them over night. Cook them up the next day, drain them, and use your recipe.
 
#3 ·
What kind of canned beans are you using? Whenever I cook a pot of ham and beans (pink beans) I don't soak mine overnight but rather fill a big pot with water about halfway then poor in my beans. Bring them to a boil and then remove from the heat and let them sit for an hour. From there you're good to go.
 
#4 ·
This does the same thing as soaking them overnight. Which ever you have the time for works!
 
#5 ·
I mostly use dry beans. Don't salt them until they are soft, the salt will toughen the skins. Both methods above work. I usually soak them overnight then rinse them before I put them on to cook. I particularly like ham hocks, lots of extra flavor in the bone and skin. Also, when you dress them up to bake them, add a teaspoon of dry mustard per pound of beans, it adds a little zip and tang that you won't be able to recognize as mustard but is really good.
 
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#8 ·
I like pinto's.
No matter how early in the morning I start them, they are not tender by lunch.
Overnight soak was the ONLY way to get them done - and that MIGHT be due to the fact that I bought a huge bag of them at Sam's, and apportioned them out in one pound packages. Due to this, I have had these beans for YEARS, and they are REALLY hard.

When you DO get a pressure cooker -
I cooked some of these beans to tenderness in 1/2 hour - - -
 
#9 ·
That's more of what I was trying to get at with the type of beans. Not so much the brand but for baked beans do you use pinto, red, white, black.....? Never made homemade baked beans before and it would be fun to give it a shot.
 
#12 ·
We start with Great Northern beans soaked overnight then cook.
We add the same ingredients as you do but we also dice up a Bell Pepper.
Or, you can do the same as I do at the TFF BBQ.
Buy a gallon can of Bush's Southern Style Baked Beans.
Add Bacon, a small Vidalia onion and a diced Bell Pepper.
I usually add a cup of BBQ Pork and a half cup of my BBQ sauce
but the bacon will work.
It saves a lot of time as Bush's has already done most of the steps.
 
#16 ·
I can't speak for anyone else here, but I like beans, Navy beans, pintos, kidney beans, butter beans of all kinds, black eyed peas, and great northern beans. They are all good, especially so when cooked with any kind of pork, or beef! Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you _____! They contain carbohydrates, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. http://beaninstitute.com/health-benefits/nutritional-value-of-dry-beans/
 
#18 ·
I always make ham and beans for our family picnics. My niece wanted the recipe. Well I cook by taste and touch, but I wrote down the recipe as best as I could. Beans are so versatile. Substitute beefsteak and add cumin and chili pepper and you've got ranch. Take my recipe and bake them after the beans get tender and they are great baked beans.

Uncle Jim's Humbug Beans


1 lb dry beans: white, pink, pinto or baby limas (Try different ones for different flavors)

1 smoked ham shank (substitute 1/2 lb lean ham, but the shank provides more flavor)

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tablespoon dry mustard or any grainy mustard you like.

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

Salt and pepper

This recipe takes about four hours, not including soaking the beans overnight.

Wash beans and soak overnight in cold water.

Cut a 1 inch cross hatch pattern around the ham shank or dice your ham into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the ham in a heavy pot or dutch oven, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 1 hour. After 1 hour rinse beans and add them directly into the pot with the ham shank and broth, add the rest of the ingredients, add water as necessary to cover the beans and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for two to three hours or until beans are tender. Check occasionally to be sure that there is sufficient water as the beans will continue to absorb. When beans are tender, you should be able to shred any remaining ham from the shank bone with a fork to distribute throughout the beans.

Hints: Go easy on the salt because the tomatoes and ham are both already salty. Add a little at a time as the beans simmer.
Use more or less sugar, salt and pepper according to your own taste.
Don't eat these if you have any important appointments later in the day......

 
#23 · (Edited)
Red Beans, and rice, Cajun style

1 pound dry kidney beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
2 cups long grain white rice

Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight.
In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, andouille sausage, and celery in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Rinse beans, and add to pot with 6 cups water. Stir. Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours. The sausage can be added at the end if you like, add it 30 min before beans are done. I like to brown off some of the fat, and flavor into the oil, and vegies.
Meanwhile, prepare the rice. In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add in 1 table spoon of butter or oil. Add in 1 cup long grain rice, stir, cover, turn heat to low, and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Do not raise the lid, do not stir the rice! This makes two cups of cooked rice. Rice should be cooked at a ratio of 2 water/1 rice. Make as many servings as you want. Serve beans over rice. Or you can add the rice to the beans, like they do on TV. Any Cajun table you sit down at will always have a bottle of Tabasco, or LA hot sauce on the table. Caution! The andouille sausage already has a lot of seasoning in it, taste it before you add the hot sauce!

Should make 8 servings.
 
#25 ·
I just recently picked up a cookbook entitled "Boston Cooks". They have a recipe for a variant of (Boston) baked beans which starts with dried navy beans and it is almost identical to the excellent recipe that my mother used throughout her life. The recipe can obviously be scaled up to whatever level you would like. If your dried navy beans are relatively fresh, the following standard preparation instructions should be sufficient to yield tender baked beans. This recipe is similar to the recipe you are using with your canned beans, with ingredient changes of dried beans, water, molasses and catsup.

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce package of dried navy beans
4 ounces sliced bacon, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
8 cups water
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup catsup
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Soak beans in water to cover in a saucepan overnight; drain. Brown bacon in a heavy sauce pan. Add onion and cook for five minutes. Add water, molasses, brown sugar, catsup, mustard and beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 3-4 hours or until beans are tender, adding additional water if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Yield: 4 servings.

Approx. per serving: Cal 83; Prot 1 g; Carbo 13 g; Fiber 2 g; T Fat 4g; Chol 21mg; Sod 377 mg

Recipe Source: Chris Schlesinger, East Coast Grill Restaurant
 
#26 ·
I rather pass myself off as a cook/baker of sorts...I never leave a receipe alone though, even on the packaged cake mixes and things...Any receipt that ever calls for molasses I go double, sometimes triple on that ...the same with my pure vanilla extract...nothing smells better in a home than with fragrances wafting out of the kitchen with vanilla on the wing... When I was a farm kid in Iowa, Mr. Boone, who lived on a gentlemans farm not far from us, raised sorgum (sp) cane...when he would harvest it, he would bring loads of those stalks in from the field with his old team of horses...he had these devices for squeezing out the juices from the cane ... along the way he'd place the juice into these great big cast iron kettles with fires burning under in rocked-up sides holding the pots. I mentioned 'gentleman farmer' because Mr. Boone didn't farm other grains like corn and soy beans and hay...just the cane...He would barter the other farmers for hay and straw and grains needed for what few animals and chickens he had...Word was he was very rich...even unsupported stories that he was a relative of Daniel Boone from Kentucky, where he had come from himself. Currently, my much requested item of cooking and boasting is BLT sandwiches with a type of California sourdough bread called Shepherds Loaf...as tender as angel food cake and that special sour dough texture and taste...just thinking of the flavored taste as I mention it, I have that feeling abck around the jaw area one gets when they think of sucking on a lemon...got it yet?
I've heard tell that if you go into a tavern/joint where a horn-blower may be playing and you suck on the lemon, he can't blow his horn just from that tight-jaw sensation!!! BTW, butter that sourdough bread and toast on that side...keep the raw side in with the 'makings'...Chief
 
#27 ·
Red kidney beans are poison.

Thorough cooking destroys the poison. Most professional chefs recommend boiling for at least ten minutes.

Carver's recipe said to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. I'd recommend boiling for ten minutes, then lower to a simmer.

Almost all beans contain this toxin. Red kidney beans contain more than any other type.

http://extension.psu.edu/food/preservation/faq/raw-kidney-beans
 
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#28 ·
Great Northern beans are fine, BUT they are softer than Navy beans....some say they are the same bean, I disagree. They [great northern] are prone to overcooking, which is fine for beans and ham, not so delectable for baked beans when you have a lot of skin and less whole beans at the finish.
Pinto beans are [OK] for baked beans, but they are heartier and not as sweet....meaning they are larger, and even with maple syrup and brown sugar as a sweetener, they have more 'pulp' taste.
Black beans are also fine, if you prefer their flavor, but they hold up to the process well and stay together, but not near as sweet and delectable to the general crowd that loves baked beans.
Kidney beans definitely stay together, but have even more of a 'pulp' taste than 'frijoles pintos' [pinto beans], but may be the healthiest bean available to us.
You can use red mung beans, which are smaller than navy beans....they are sweet, hold together well, and I have used them for HOT BBQ beans at chili cook-offs......and they were a big hit, but they were for a 'different' style to gain in competition. I have NOT made baked beans with them [I would/should give them a go] and I regularly use them mixed with other beans.....like a 3 or 4 bean pot.

As white beans are more tender [generally] and less 'pulpy' tasting, better all around for baked beans [heeding the above], absorb more of the spices you use that result in an overall flavor.
Other than a 'white' lima' bean [butter bean] which I don't 'think' would make a good baked bean other than a casserole, there is another choice if you can find them dry [order online for best results].....
Cannellini beans.....also called 'common bean', or Phaseolus vulgaris........a white kidney bean that is hearty, less pulpy than any large bean, sweet and tender, and I have made baked beans with them with great results.Usually with venison [backstrap] and green chilies, pink [Himilayan]salt, fresh ground Malabar peppercorns, and fresh crushed garlic. Yowza !!!!!! [served on fresh baked French baquettes...or hot pan cornbread made with cream-style corn and a 1/2 cup of heavy cream poured into the center of the batter just before baking....Yowza Yowza !!!!!!! But I digress........

I have cooked dry beans for decades......learned from my '*******' relatives.....that don't cook dry beans !!!!!! WTF?
Well, my relatives didn't......per se.....they always had a big stew pot [stock pot] sitting on the back of the stove......and always added to it, daily, depending on what was brought home that day......from the shrimp docks, the store, from Uncle Boudreax on the swamp [fish, gator, duck, etc] , When I was a kid many didn't have refrigeration to store perishables, lived in a stilt cabin in the swamp. If someone brought perishables, they were cooked and eaten, or dried on the porch, depending. The fire never went out on the stove, and things were added daily to the pot......when someone [uncle, cousin, etc. was not available to hunt/fish.....going to work a couple days for cash] then the rice and/or beans were added to the pot. I remember drying out wood on the wood stove top, from the swamp, to use in the firebox of the stove. [Sorry for the reminiscent ramble]

Today, I usually cook multiple beans at a time. Black, Pinto, red or black mung, great northern, etc. because I believe we need variety in food for health, and beans should be eaten everyday. [whether your 'mate' appreciates it or not.....poot-poot.......
But I have progressed to a system that is ingenious, and simple, and easy, and fast.
I believe all dry beans should still be checked for dirt clods and rocks.......despite the great
modern harvesting techniques and machines, but I am an old dog, maybe it isn't necessary
anymore, but I still bark at the full moon......yet I have progressed with modern technology !

Nothing beats the 'new' electric pressure cookers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I use a Wolfgang Puck 8qt bought from HSN.com but there are others that are digital,
Power Pressure cooker XL is one if you want the pre-set buttons and have it think for you. [check out Chef Eric Theiss on YouTube. I like the WP because it is simple and analog, and I can think for myself.
I still believe dry beans should be soaked for at least a while......rinsed, soaked again, and rinsed again before cooking.....even if it it only a matter of a couple of hours. [or if you use the heat method]
I am surely no expert [at 70]......beans have been around far longer than my meager time.....
but they have been perfected in a million ways. Never take beans for granted.
The addage "it don't mean beans to me" came from the days that beans were the cheapest form of food available.......haha.......not any longer.
Ishootback......I would seriously invest in an electric Pressure cooker.......it is almost my most versatile kitchen appliance.....I cook FROZEN chicken breast for my cats [18] every other day, whole chicken for guests, entire frozen turkey breast, well, unlimited menus......
Look at youTube about electric pressure cookers.......the right research will only cost your budget 'beans'.......and your at-home results will be filet mignon.
Let me know if I can help.
God bless,
Ozo
 
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#30 ·
I get the California shepherd sour dough bread from Kroger's (FRY'S)...an 9" loaf is priced at 3.99....so few people know of the tasty loaf, I usually get loaves off the day-old bakery cart@1.99...Here is what posted on Google:
Shepherd's Bread | The Fresh Loaf
www.thefreshloaf.com › Blogs › breadsong's blog
May 27, 2012 - Hello everyone,Shepherd's Bread, from Beth Hensperger's book Bread ... and settled in the agricultural communities of the California Sierras, ... I made this bread with sourdough, following Susan's (wildyeastblog) ... So many folks like the Norwich SD recipe and have had great resulting breads as a result.
 
#32 ·
For those of you like me who have gotten a bit confused on the very best manner in which to rehydrate dried beans, I offer the following link to a write up with decent analytical underpinnings on the topic. Anymore, in order to minimize the after the fact gaseous effect of the beans I exclusively use the overnight soak method. That seems to work rather nicely.

https://christopherkimball.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/cooking-beans-101/
 
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