Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Canning Dried Beans

I HATE cooking dried beans!  Yup - there's the truth!  I either don't think about soaking them early enough, or I actually think about, follow the interactions, and still have crunchy beans.  But I also DESPISE canned beans from the store.  I truly agree by the theory that "nothing good comes from a can," though there are still a few things that I will buy in a can!  There is just so much "nonsense" in the food that way, not to mention the idea of having your food in metal - a component not meant to be in your body!  So how do I get around the canned bean issue when I want to make chili, beans for tacos, black bean soup, or any other recipe that calls for canned beans.... I make my own "cans!"  This is super super easy!!!!  This is NOT my recipe - I'm sure Ball canning put this out eons ago - these are simply the directions I follow :)

You'll need dry beans (any type), salt (I prefer celtic sea salt), water, glass jars (a pint jar is equivalent to a 15 oz can), flats, rings, and a pressure canner.

1. Prep your jars, flats, rings, and jars like you normally would.

2. Put 1/2 C dry beans in your jar (I used red kidney beans)

3.  Add 1/2 t of salt

4. Fill with water up, leaving between 3/4 and 1 inch headspace

5.  Put on your sterilized flat and ring and place in your pressure canner.  I was able to get 10 pints in mine - you do not have have the same type of beans in your jars... I could have done 5 kidney beans, 2 northern beans, and 3 black beans, or whatever assortment I wanted :)

6.  Pressure can (per your canner's instructions) at 15 pounds of pressure, for 90 minutes - yes, an hour and a half!!!

7.  Let your canner cool down naturally (no pouring cold water over it to cool it off quicker!)  The result is perfectly cooked plump "canned" beans, ready for whatever recipe you need them for!!!


Enjoy!

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