Help Needed with Pinto Beans

Let me preface this question by saying that I was a modest prepper, with a 3-4 month supply of food and essentials. My overriding rule was to not buy anything I wouldnt buy or use anyway. I followed this rule about 95% of the time.

In the final rush of late December, I added 50 lbs. of pinto beans to my preps. The cost was low, the shelf-life great, and they seemed like a good piece of supplemental insurance. My family and I like beans, so I felt I couldnt go wrong with this purchase. I have to admit here that Ive always used canned beans to make chili, soups, etc.

Im still saving most of my preps for awhile, but I have tried on two occasions to make some Mexican pinto beans. The recipe called for soaking the beans at least overnight. The first time, I soaked the beans overnight, then followed the recipe. They came out crunchy, even though I cooked them an extra hour. The next time, I soaked the beans for 2 days. Same result  crunchy beans.

My question, what am I doing wrong? Is there a trick or additional step that my books are omitting, such as:

1. Pre-boil the beans before soaking at high temp. 2. Soak even longer. 3. Cook even longer. 4. ???

Can "old" beans be tougher than newer ones? Maybe the ones I got had been sitting around awhile. Any help would be appreciated.

-- Patrick21 (sea_stars1@excite.com), March 20, 2000

Answers

Patrick21

If the recipe calls for salt hold that back until the beans have become tender. Then add it at the end. Salting the beans early is supposed to prevent them from becoming tender. Also, if you have an ingredient (usually pre-prepared canned) that has a high sodium content you need to keep that out until the beans are already tender. If in doubt, just cook the beans alone until they are tender and then add everything else.

Watch six and keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.2all), March 20, 2000.

Thanks Eyes Open,

I didn't know that salt could prevent tenderness. As I said, I've made two unsuccessful tries, and decided it was time to get "professional help!"

I appreciate your input.

-- Patrick21 (SEA_STARS1@EXCITE.COM), March 20, 2000.

try pressure cooking them, it really works on all beans, old and new.

-- lynne (leaves8@hotmail.com), March 20, 2000.

Patrick21, my Mama (God rest her soul) always said, salt made things tough. Add it last.

-- Salt (er@holic.com), March 20, 2000.

Patrick,

Make sure that there is plenty of water. You want the beans to be submerged throughout the cooking process. The salt advice is also correct. Also slow cooking is best; keep the heat low.

Undercooked beans result in flatulence. phhhhssss Soak overnight, rinse and cook until tender.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), March 21, 2000.

I have always added a can of Coke a Cola to my dark beans and 7Up to my white beans. It makes the gas go away. This method has been used in cooking beans for years in my neck of the woods.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), March 21, 2000.

If you don't want crunchy beans, after soaking overnight, and when you are cooking them, don't I repeat don't add cold water to the already cooking beans. I heat up water in another pot if I have to add water to the beans. For some reason cold water makes the beans go crunch.

Hope this helps.

Beth(NC)

-- Beth (craig@icu2.net), March 23, 2000.

A no-fail method for tender beans is using a crockpot. Put one pound of well picked over (no rocks, no wrinkled, split, or off-color beans) into a 5 qt. (the next size up from the standard size) crockpot. Rinse beans. Cover with cold water to within 1" of top. Put lid on and cook on low for 4-6 hours. I like to add a whole onion and several cloves of unpeeled garlic. You can pull these out whole veggies and discard when the bean are done. You may have a lot of leftover bean juice, which can either be discarded or saved for bean soup. Salt to taste when cooking and dejuicing has been completed.

-- Aunt Bee (SheriffAndy@Mayberry.com), March 24, 2000.