Oh and if you're smoking a turkey or a brisket, let it drip into your beans while they are in the smoker. Ho yeah!
Oh and if you're smoking a turkey or a brisket, let it drip into your beans while they are in the smoker. Ho yeah!
We enjoy beans here. Usually slow simmered. Due to dietary constraints of S/O, I don't add pork. As pointed out...... There are many different types of beans and many different ways to cook them. Have you tried chili with beans? Could be a starting point. Experiment with seasonings.
It is suggested not to add high acidic foods to beans until they are mostly cooked (acidic ingredients are said to inhibit cooking). We can up beans here as well (pints = 75 minutes at appropriate PRESSURE for your altitude). When canning, you can add acidic ingredients even if doing raw pack.
Soups and so forth might be a decent place to start! Might be easier to start with some small (the smaller the better!) cans of beans. Or cook up a small amount....... Then add a SMALL amount to, let's say a veggie soup (white beans could be yummy there).
Here is a recipe suggestion:
Taco Soup
1 lb ground beef, browned OR a pint of home canned ground beef
1 15-16 ounce can/jar tomatoes
1 15-16 ounce can/jar pinto beans
2 15-16 ounce cans/jars ranch type beans
1 15-16 ounce can/jar corn
1 12-16 ounce can/jar tomatoes with green chili
1 package dry ranch dressing mix (OPTIONAL - I do not add)
Combine all cans/jars (liquid included). Add additional liquid if necessary. Heat until hot. Can top with cheese, sour cream etc.
I have been known to make a double or triple batch of this and then can it (75 minutes for pints at appropriate pressure for your altitude) for my truck driving S/O.
I have also thought that a can/jar (or even fresh/frozen!) green beans (or maybe peas?) might be a decent addition.
Keep in mind...... The various pork additions (usually smoked) are for flavor. However.......... The WONDERFUL news if you want the flavor without the pork (I deal with this here) you **can** substitute! A smoked turkey leg in place of a ham hock can work! Beef (preferred) or turkey bacon instead of pork bacon! Be creative!
You might try lentils. No soaking, they cook in 30 min or so, and when combined with rice and hamburger (if you have it) taste 'meatier' than some other kinds of beans.
My late hubs loved them. They also mash well. One caveat though...add a little lemon juice to the finished beans, or some ketchup or salsa. Some folks think they taste muddy, and added acidic ingredients puts an end to that. The first way I made them for hubs to try, I made them this way:
Lentils & Rice
1 c dry lentils
1 cup white rice
5 cups water
chopped onion, if you have it, otherwise onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
salsa if you want it
Bring the water to a boil; add lentils. Cook 20 min. Add rice, cook another 20 min until rice is tender and lentils are soft. While the rice & lentils cook, saute the onions until at least tender, preferably caramelized and browned. When time is up, open lentils & rice, drain off excess liquid (if any) stir in onions. Season to taste. Let diners add salsa at the table to suit their taste buds. We did not use salsa the first time and they were still tasty. You can add crumbled browned hamburger if you like, for those who want meat in their 'casserole'. Just brown it with the onions, and stir in at the end.
Crock pot Pintos & Spuds
1-2 potatoes, washed and cut in chunks (I leave skin on)
1-2 cups pinto beans (depending on how many you are feeding)
Water
Ham bouillon
Pepper to taste
I usually use 1 potato to each 1/2 cup dry pintos. Soak the beans ahead of time; put in crock pot with water to cover plus 2 inches. Add potatoes and ham bouillon.
Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours or so. Taste and add pepper to taste. If you use Idaho (baking) potatoes, they tend to break down in the crock pot, so if you want them to retain their shape, use boiling or all purpose potatoes. You can eat this as a stew, or boil off any 'excess' water. With the bouillon in there, I usually eat it as a soup/stew as the pot liquor is delicious, too. You can add sliced carrots as a variation; mixed veggies if you want more of a mixed veggie stew.
Don't forget, you can mash cooked beans to give them a decidedly non-beany texture....refried beans, for example; White beans, mashed well, will thicken a chicken soup delightfully while 'hiding' in the broth.
Butter Beans are also popular with non-beany folks...at least the way I make 'em:
2 cups large lima beans, soaked overnight
Water to cover plus 2 inches
Chicken bouillon powder, 1 tsp per cup of water used (don't put it in in the beginning)
1/2 stick butter or good-tasting margarine
Cook those soaked beans, either by simmering slowly or putting in the crock pot. When nearly done (almost soft but not quite) drain off enough of the cooking water so they are sloshy, but not swimming, and stir in the bouillon to taste, and the butter. Stir, and finish cooking. The butter & bouillon do something to those beans, and they hide the 'beany flavor' some folks don't like.
If all else, maybe chili-beans?
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