I made a pot of beans this weekend from scratch and they tasted great but the beans were still kinda crunchy. Even after cooking for 2.5 hours, and even after re-heating them for lunch yesterday. I soaked the beans overnite like the bag said. So, what am I doing wrong??? They tasted great though, just tough!!

BTW, it was a 2lb bag of Kroger brand mixed beans(pinto, great northern, etc).

Any help or pointers would be appreciated!!

How old were they ?

Cook them longer. No need to soak either.

Same here. I add vinigar for taste. Maybe that will help.

Put the spices in after they have cooked for a couple of hours and DO NOT add any water unless it is real hot. If you add cold/tap temperature water the beans will be hard.

Use a CROCK POT....thats beans are actually what they were invented for!

Rinse beans and place in crock pot with spices and what even and turn it on low the night before then when you get home the next day from work or the blind they are ready to go.

Do not add any salt to the beans while cooking, except for the last 10 min. otherwise they will turn hard.

Not true at all. I always add salt first, and my beans could never be confused with being hard.

So you guys don't soak your beans at all??

I did pretty much everything else mentioned above (vinigar, no salt early, etc). Total cooking time was probably close to 4 hours! Mostly on a very low simmer in a high quality cast iron dutch oven. I remember one recipe on here that said soak beans for 2 days??? So I am a bit confused.

Maybe I will try different beans?

I have only used my crockpot when I use canned beans. I like the dutch oven because I can brown and sweat the ingredients first in the same pot.

Thanks for all the input!!

In my experiences, if you do not soak the beans first, then you can't just simmer them. You need to get them to a medium - med. high boil at least for the first couple hours, then you can cut them back to simmer. Also, I always have a slice or two of bacon in mine, the oils in it help soften the beans too.

I soak mine overnight with spices in them(garlic powder,salt,black pepper) and chopped
jalepenos and slices of onion, add pork salt the next morning and cook 4-5 hrs
Was told by a good bean cooker in Odessa(Chuck Wagon Gang) to never stir either
so i dont
Evidently i do something right, i won 1st last yr at a cook-off over the previous 2 yr winner

CTHT - Wow! 4-5 hours!! I guess I just needed to cook them longer!! I will give it a go.


TX_HUNTRESS - I had bacon and a big ol' smoked ham knuckle in mine. But I will try the higher temp if I don't have time to soak them.

Az, I usually put them on at 10 in the morning, on the lowest temp, and don't eat them til dinner time.

Az, get em to a rolling boil, then turn down to where they are barely boiling, after about 3 1/2 hrs, taste them,you may need more salt at this point
If ya use salt pork, dont put very much salt to start with, add to taste when they start gettin soft

AZ, forgot to mention that you will probably need to add water after having them boiling for a while.
(Agree with whoever said to add hot water not cold.)

One last thing, lol. I like to use chicken broth instead of water for at least half the liquid. If I have beer, I'll add one too. Liquid is a good place to impart flavor. I also use bacon grease to cook down my veggies, and add smoked ham hocks after I add the beans.

Just make sure when you add water, you add boiling water. Keep another pot going for water. flavor is better if you add the extra fixings in the last 30 minutes or so.

Thanks for all the help!!

They need to cook longer!

+1 Bring them to a rolling boil for about 2.5 hours. Then simmer with bacon , celantro, and onion until done. No need for salt , the bacon has a little .

No soak and use a pressure cooker. Cook under pressure about 2 1/2 hours checking every 30 to 45 minutes to refill water. Add some beef bullion also in addition to your pork hocks. I guarantee they will be soft and the best beans you ever cooked. I usually also add cumin, granulated garlic, and a good dose of following spice/rub mix.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroug