quick - for those who cook beans in a crock pot

[herbalwriter]

how long, and what setting?? I am cooking pintos that soaked all night...or I would like to...for refried beans tonight. In the past my beans were hard and the skins separated when I did them in a CP.

Thank you!!

[snlmama]

I usually don't soak and put them in all day - maybe 8-9 hours. I start out on high for a couple of hours, then switch it to low.

[MidnightCafe]

I don't soak. I cook them on high for 3 hours. They turn out perfect every time.

[herbalwriter]

Wow, thanks for the quick response!!!

Shucks - I guess if I already soaked them I can't do the CP thing. I wish my pressure cooker weren't broken (lid). I hate to bake or boil them because it takes so much electricity.

[snlmama]

Nah. It should work. I've actually soaked them and crockpotted and it worked fine, but when I forgot to soak I figured out it will work w/o soaking, so why bother. :shifty

[herbalwriter]

So if I put them on high now then turn them to low after errands, they should be fine by 5 pm...that's not 8 hours, but I can check them. Let's hope!! Thanks mamas. :grouphug

[canadiyank]

I've not had good luck with beans, either. I read somewhere you're not supposed to add salt, but I didn't and they still turned out hard. :shrug

[snlmama]

I've not had good luck with beans, either. I read somewhere you're not supposed to add salt, but I didn't and they still turned out hard. :shrug


Where do you live. It's harder to cook beans in high altitudes, but I don't know why. My parents have a place in the mountains and we always take either canned or precooked beans up there. Mom's an awesome cook but in 30 some odd years she's never figured out how to cook beans in the mountains. :shrug

[Lady TS]

Yeah, high altitude makes it so that beans take a year and a day to cook. Also, if you have old beans they tend to take longer to cook. I think it's because water boils at a lower temp at high altitude.

[canadiyank]

No, I don't live in a high altitude. :think I should try again. I like beans.

[herbalwriter]

Thank you mamas - I had success! :highfive I cooked the beans on high 3 hours like MidnightCafe suggested, and then turned them off and let them sit in the CP until 4:15 - they were perfect! just like canned. You guys rule!!!

[MidnightCafe]

:highfive :mrgreen

[Lady TS]

So...what'd you eat with your beans once you made 'em up?

I'm curious because I have a pot cooking now and am kinda looking for something different. :grin

[herbalwriter]

I dumped them into a skillet with some non-hydrogenated shortening, and a teeny touch of bacon grease (nitrite-free bacon, of course! ha ha), and mashed them up and added some salsa. Then I poured them into a pie plate and topped them with shredded cheddar cheese and diced fresh tomatoes. Then we ate it with corn chips and topped with plain yogurt. :yum Ds could not get enough...he kept eating right into bedtime! :giggle

[Lady TS]

:beandip2

Couldn't find the lip-smacking smiley, so had to use the bean dip one. I figured this was an appropriate place for it. :P

Sounds yummy!
I cooked up a pound of pinto beans yesterday and so far have made a sandwich spread type recipe. There's still the rest of them waiting for me to disguise them(ds hates beans--or so he says).

[Soliloquy]

I soak overnight and cook them all day on high, usually 6-7 hours. I add a strip of kombu (a dried sea vegetable). DO NOT add salt or acidic foods until the very end--this will make your beans hard.