Canning Pinto Beans

[Annarchy]

 

I have an inquisitive question....

 

I’d like to can the pinto beans, but, I always cook them with 1/4 pkg of bacon. It’s the taste DH and his mom love. 

 

Can I can them with the bacon?

 

If so, how long would they be shelf stable?

[The WE2's]

54 minutes ago, Annarchy said:

If so, how long would they be shelf stable?

 

Time them just as you would for meat (I think beans are the same though) and they should last for ???  I have meats set back since 2015 and we've opened them and they're just fine.

[Jeepers]

I can beans with ham and bacon is pork...right? I wouldn't can them with thick slabs of bacon. I'd chop it up. When I can my chicken veggie soup I put about a third of a cup of cooked chicken in each pint jar and it isn't too much. I think with bacon it's mostly because of the grease issue. Would I do it? Yep. In fact when I can beans again I'm going to use bacon grease in the insta-pot when I pre-cook them.

 

Be sure they are plenty soupy though. I canned some ham and beans one time and didn't use enough liquid. They were okay but the stuff in the bottom of the jar was too thick. I could still shake them up but just barely. Not the safest way I like to see my canned food. For safety reasons, I like my ham and beans to be sort of like the consistency of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. They did thicken up too much in the canning process. Lesson learned for me.

 

How long will they keep? If canned properly with a good seal and stored in a cool, dry, dark place they will be good for a number of years. Nearly all up-to-date canning books say to use your home canned food within 12-18 months now. I think they are being conservative for a reason. CYA. And to be fair, that's how long they will last before they start to break down and start to lose some of their nutrients and texture etc. I finished up the last of my bean soup a few months ago. They were 4 years old and tasted just like the day I canned them. I usually try to use my home canned food within about 4 years but I'm not afraid of 5 year old food I've canned.

 

But I'm a rebel with a cast iron stomach and not a foodie.

[Annarchy]

Thank you very much. 

 

I am considering doing it as a time saver. But one quart would be just one meal for DH. 

 

I was also wondering if they’d turn out like condensed soup, if I pre-cooked them. Then, just add a little water when you open & heat it up. IDK. Guess I’ll just have to try it. 

[Twilight]

I think beans will absorb more water as they pressure. Even if they are precooked...just what I have noticed.

 

Crabgrassacres said in canning dry uncooked beans, never fill the jar with

more  than 1/3 dry beans. That is true and on some beans you could go less.

[Jeepers]

I agree with Twilight. I was surprised by how much they thickened up in the canning process even after I had pre-cooked them.

 

I wouldn't want them to be like condensed soup after canning them. I think they would be too thick for the heat to do its job to safely can them. You want them to be sloshy in the jar. 

 

The books say to fill a jar 1/3 the way with 'solid' and 2/3 with liquid when canning soups, stews etc. I do about half and half. But that's just what works for me.

 

I've never canned beans where you put dried beans in a jar and top with water then can. I know there are some people who do but it isn't recomennded. In my experience, dried beans are just too unpredictable in the amount of water they will or won't soak up in the jar. JMO.

[The WE2's]

I've canned beans both ways...dry, pre-soaked, pre-cooked.  Like mentioned by Twilight, when I can dry beans I never go past the 1/3rd and use vegetable stock for the rest of the way.  I don't can Lima's because we don't like them.  They take up a lot more liquid and space anyway.  I usually only can pinto's, northern's, reds and black beans.  Haven't yet canned up lentils though.  I know they're supposed to be very good when one adds rice to them.

[Jeepers]

I only can with great northern beans instead of navy beans. They are just a tad bit bigger and they hold their shape a little better than the navy beans. 

[Twilight]

Neither I nor CGA put dry beans in the jar. The beans were soaked to start the process. I still have many of the canned beans from 5 years ago and I do not remember for sure but think it was an hour or two of soaking. Lentils really soak up the the water and I was not happy with the result. I think they should have been less than 1/3 dry. 

I did do large Limas , they turned out extremely well. Cup for cup  Limas make more. 

But back to lentils, they were dry no water/ broth at all when opened and had to be dug out of the jar. I think to cook I added 1 qt. of liquid per pint. They still tasted dry.

[Littlesister]

I have never tried to can navy beans nor pintos. I have heard so many pros and cons that I have been a bit leary of trying it. But I do vacuum can my beans with O2 obsorbers. They say they will keep for 20 years or more like that in a cool, dry, dark area. though I have never kept any that long, it is good to know if that person is right about that. 

I do make my own soups and beef stew, etc and can it. They have been great for a fast meal. 

[snapshotmiki]

I've done black beans and kidney beans, but not pintos--yet.  

[Jeepers]

I do mostly Great Northern beans. And Great Northern beans soup.

 

I haven't tried canning beans from their dry state. I pre-cook them a few minutes in the electric pressure cooker and then can them. 

 

Next year I want to can a few half-pints of black beans to use in a burrito filling. 

[snapshotmiki]

On 10/20/2019 at 6:37 PM, Jeepers said:

I haven't tried canning beans from their dry state.

 

I can them from dry and they are good.  I may pre cook a bit when I do the next batch just to see the difference.