Bake Beans

[urnmor]

Bake Beans seem to be my archilles heel as I have one h--- of time to get the beans soft. Last time I made them I soaked over night then proceeded to make the bake bean. The sauce was great however, the beans could have been used as pellets in a pellet gun as they were still hard.

This time I soaked overnight, boiled/simmered them for about two hours and even added baking soda before I made the beans. After I added all my ingredients I placed in my smoker for four hours. Again great taste but the beans were not as hard as last time but still had to much of a bite.

Any suggestions

[Foiled Again]

lower your baking temp by 25 degrees. It Leaves more moisture in the pot.
If that's not enough, go just a tad lower again.

Paula

[AWCHIEF]

18 hours soak and low and slow cooking. Do not forget the bacon. The more the better.

[Airtandem]

I use Randolffs in the jar. They have the Great Northern and also a 7 bean mix. They are ready to go and I can make baked, soup ham&beans etc. cuts the time and sorting and soaking when using raw beans.

mike

[Caffeinated]

Current season beans cook much faster than beans that are a year or more old.

Mike

[AWCHIEF]

I once upon a time made the mistake of using a pressure cooker to try to cook beans. First and only time I have had the relieve valve blow. The weight put a nice divert in the ceiling and sprayed bean slop all over the kitchen. I have a newish digital slowcooker that does a great job with beans, soups and stews. I have been experimenting with it a lot lately.

[Airtandem]

That "Kentucky" condiment is a good addition to baked beans.
mike

[AWCHIEF]

My Father would accidentally spill a little Bud in his beans.

[xrvr]

No salt in soaking water and don't use old beans.

[mimiandrews]

"Soft" water does a much better job of cooking beans than "hard" water. If you have the kind of water that leaves a soap scum ring in the tub, it's bad for beans. If you have the kind of water where you're never sure you got all the soap off you in the shower, it's great for beans. If I have soft water, I don't even bother to soak the beans.

When I was growing up in West Texas, the cooks in my family would do almost anything to find a supply of soft water for cooking beans (output of the water softener does not count--way too much sodium for human consumption). They collected rainwater, drove out to a roadside rest stop that was reputed to have a soft water well, etc. So, this is not just my opinion. I'm passing down wisdom from the old folks here.

Once while camping in a site I knew had hard water, I tried cooking beans with bottled drinking water. Eureka! It worked. Ozarka brand bottled drinking water does a fantastic job! I've used it several times, and it works consistently.

I don't know how widely Ozarka bottle water is marketed, and I have not tried other brands. Hope this works for you.

[Boxite]

Mimi, if your beans are leaving a soap-scum ring in your bathtub you are definitely a West Texas girl!

[KellyAndersson]

#1 most likely problem is salt. Are you adding salt or soda to your beans before suppertime? Don't. Beans want salt at the table, not in the pot.

Bottled water can also make a huge improvement if your water's not excellent.

My favorite trick on beans (more likely ham&beans but also baked) is to simmer the first bunch of beans till they're about half tender, then add the remainder of the beans to the simmering pot. So you get partially mushy beans and partially tender-cooked beans. I'll do the same with vegetable additions to either beans or a stew: Onions, celery, minced carrots, or (especially) the spuds in clam chowder -- the first-cooked ones are super softened, the secondary veg's are barely tender.

[Vincents etc]

I have to agree with KeelyAnderson on the timing and texture thing.

I've also noticed that adding any kind of acid to the pot too early can stall the cooking of the beans, so I usually add those kind of things towards the end.

[KellyAndersson]

Originally Posted by Vincents etc

... adding any kind of acid to the pot too early can stall the cooking of the beans ...

YES.
Simmer your beanies till tender, then add the sauce stuff.

If I'm making ham&beans I'll definitely add the ham hocks and some chopped veg's to the pot before the beans are tender. But no vinegar for sure till you've achieved tenderness. [[hmm, wasn't that a movie in the late '40s?)]]

[Overstreet]

1. low and slow...….slow cookers work great. Otherwise simmer a long time.

2. Use canned beans.

3. Personally I don't "bake" beans. I BBQ them. Three cans of different beans. For example, navy, pinto, black, black eyes, and or Chic peas. Drain beans, ad to pot, add cooked bacon, onions and pulled pork. Add your favorite bbq sauce. Simmer till done enough for you.

[Al and Missy]

I use this recipe, but I do it all on the stovetop, not in the oven or smoker. If anything I stop the cook early or they get too soft for my taste.


https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...on-baked-beans


Al