I like my beans to be a bit softer than store bought canned beans. So I cooked my beans for 1 ½ hours before I canned them. This gave them just the right texture for me.
Here is how I canned my beans...
I began by measuring out my beans. I used about 5lbs of pinto beans (this was about 12 cups of dried beans)..
I put them in my 14 quart stock pot and covered them with about 2 ½ gallons of water. I added 1t salt for each cup of dried beans..
Brought them to a boil, the covered and simmered for 1 to 1 ½ hours…
When they were done cooking I strained out the beans but made sure to save the bean broth. I put my strainer in a large bowl to catch the broth..
Then I filled my hot, clean jars with dried beans and covered with hot broth (leaving about 1 inch head space). I put a lid and ring on them and put them in canner.
I canned quarts for 90 minutes at 10lbs of pressure and pints for 75 minutes at 10lbs of pressure. When I was done I had 7 quarts and 4 pints…
A few days later I did the same thing with red beans. This time I cooked 15 cups of dried beans and covered with about 2 3/4 gallons of water (this was about the maximum my 14 quart pot could hold). This batch gave me 7 quart jars and 8 pint jars..
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I have canned dried beans before but with not much success. I have never tried cooking them first. I want to try this as yours look very good. Thanks again. Enjoy your day and God bless.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to can beans....but I have never given it a try. Always wanted to though. Thanks for posting....it doesn't seem as bad as I thought it would be. I will have to give beans a try.
ReplyDeleteI've also known of people that after draining the beans, they'll put them in freezer bags so they can freeze them to use as needed so they wouldn't have to use the whole bulk by a certain time. I think that both ideas are great!
ReplyDeleteI had a question, how long can you store the canned beans?
Hi Anon.. I freeze LOTS of beans.. I love having them in my freezer. I like the idea with canning them that I don't have to wait for them to defrost.. they are much more simple to use. Canned beans will store for a very long time. After about 1 year most canned goods begin to lose nutritional value. Crystal :)
DeleteI would love to do this, it sounds so easy. I do have a question, are the beans fully cooked b-4 they enter the jars or does canning them make them fully cooked?
ReplyDeleteHi Danita, Beans take about 2 1/2 hours to cook completely. When I can them I cook them for about 1 1/2 hours. They are mostly cooked by this point. They will cook while in the canner and will be fully cooked after they are canned. Crystal :)
DeleteThanks for posting this Crystal! I have never canned beans before. Could you do these in a water bath as I don't have a pressure cooker.
ReplyDeleteAlso I like the idea of freezing them as anonymous mentioned. If freezing, should you leave some liquid in the baggie? This is a great thing to do for the maybe tough times ahead. Heard we should be stocking up on food supply. Thanks again. Love your site!
Amy
Hi Amy, No you can't do this in a water bath canner. Water bath canning is for high acid foods only, such as fruit, jams, jellies, pickled foods, etc.. You have to use a pressure canner for all low acid foods.
DeleteI do freeze my beans with some of the cooking liquid.
Crystal :)
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. We eat beans in our house on a weekly basis and I like this idea a lot. I just go a pressure cooker last fall and the only thing left from the garden to can were green beans. Now I have something to try while I wait for the garden this summer.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought of canning beans! We are big fans of pinto beans and I can't wait to try this! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love canning my beans. It makes for such a quick meal. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of beans ;) :) That's great that you'll have all of that to eat from during the next months. Speaking of canning, I want to "can" some soup...well, make a huge batch and put it in the freezer to be enjoyed later. Is that something I can do, store in glass jars in the freezer? I don't have canning equipement, but if I use the right storage containers, it should be okay in the freezer for along time, right? Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
ReplyDeleteHi Heather.. yes you can freeze soup in canning jars. You need to leave plenty of space at the top of the jar because frozen food expands. If you don't leave space it will crack your jar. You can also freeze soups in zip lock bags or plastic freezer containers. Crystal :)
DeleteThanks for sharing this recipe. Just a quick question, what type/brand of pressure canner do you own? We are looking at purchasing one. Perhaps you could post a picture of your canner and some info for us first time (hopefully) users. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a time saver,We like great northern beans with ham hocks, has anyone done this and how ?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this recipe. I've recently discovered your blog, and I just love all of your ideas. One thought I had for your beans was this: when we cook dried beans, we take the (ahem) gas effect out of them. We peel a potato, and put it in, whole, with the beans while they are cooking. Just remove the potato prior to preparing them to eat (adding seasonings or sauce). I'm sure it would work here, too. I was skeptical when my husband said he'd seen it on a cooking show. We have tried it several times, and we were astonished at how effective it is. Just don't eat that potato!!
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