Pressure cooker bean recipies?

[Ken in Anaheim]

Big YES to the lentils. I use 2.5 cups water to each cup of lentils and (in the pressure cooker) cook the for 3 minutes, remove from heat and let the pressure drop naturally. For me, beans, rice ,lentils and potatoes are kind of the same: they all make great "foundations" and take on the flavors of whatever spices etc ya add to them. Plus, they store well......and THEY'RE ALL CHEAP !!
KinA

 

[LivingandLearning]

My method for pressure cooking beans:

1.  I read in a test kitchen cook book that for the best results for cooked beans they should be brined in salt water and soaked for a long time.  I soak two cups of dried beans in a bowl of water with at least 1 tablespoon of salt.  The book recommends two tablespoons of salt because the chemical compound of salt reacts with the calcium in the bean shell to soften it.  Then I let them soak for 24 (yup 24) hours.

2.  I rinse the beans, but I suppose if water were scarce I could just drain them and put them in the pressure cooker.  Cover with water about an inch higher than the beans.  I season them at this time.  I like the way the canned bean brand Sun Vista pinto beans taste and they add salt and sugar plus some other things I can't remember right now.

3.  I bring the beans up to pressure and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  By twelve minutes I usually have a nice gravy.  I let the pressure release naturally.  If the beans are not soft enough at this point, I just bring them back up to pressure and cook for another 5 minutes.

This method also works for the smallish garbanzo beans I get at the 99-cent store.

Tracy

 

[highdesertranger]

Sun Vista does have good canned pinto beans. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

heres mine

2 cups pinto's overnight soak dump water fill back up 8-10 cups of water
beef bouillon cubs less then whats called for so about enough for 6 cups
1 onion
diced garlic as much as you want
tbl spoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme,sage
handfull of parsley
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or a jalapeno or 2
1 chopped smoked sausage

light boil on wood stove for about 4 hours,and you would be amazed at how little heat it takes to keep a light boil

 

[LivingandLearning]

My method for pressure cooking beans:

1.  I read in a test kitchen cook book that for the best results for cooked beans they should be brined in salt water and soaked for a long time.  I soak two cups of dried beans in a bowl of water with at least 1 tablespoon of salt.  The book recommends two tablespoons of salt because the chemical compound of salt reacts with the calcium in the bean shell to soften it.  Then I let them soak for 24 (yup 24) hours.

2.  I rinse the beans, but I suppose if water were scarce I could just drain them and put them in the pressure cooker.  Cover with water about an inch higher than the beans.  I season them at this time.  I like the way the canned bean brand Sun Vista pinto beans taste and they add salt and sugar plus some other things I can't remember right now.

3.  I bring the beans up to pressure and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  By twelve minutes I usually have a nice gravy.  I let the pressure release naturally.  If the beans are not soft enough at this point, I just bring them back up to pressure and cook for another 5 minutes.

This method also works for the smallish garbanzo beans I get at the 99-cent store.

Tracy

I figured out how to make the beans taste like Sun Vista!  After I soak them for a day, I put them in the pressure cooker covered by about 1/2 inch of water.  To this I add 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar, then I sprinkle powdered garlic on the top (probably about 1/2 teaspoon).  I bring them to pressure and cook for 12 minutes.  These taste so great!  I eat them in a bowl, in a burrito, in a salad... YUM!

 

[Langleyc05]

I don't own a pressure cooker yet. Such short cooking times sound great! I just have one question. Are the beans still whole when they are done? I boiled them too high one time and ended up with a pot of bean skins. I didn't like that. Usually I soak overnight then simmer for about an hour or more.

 

[akrvbob]

I'm sure its possible to do that with a pressure cooker if you leave them in too long. But all mine have come out exactly like I had used a regular pot, just in a a much shorter time.