Hey yall! So im making a stew with a smoked turkey leg (thawed) black beans soaked overnight (changed the water and put them in the fridge for the morning. It also has beef broth, onion, carrot mushroom, bell pepper some lemon juice, and seasonings.
The beans are still not soft at all—I’m wondering if the acidity is stopping them since I’ve been reading that the last few minutes. To be fair they’ve only been on 2 hours in a low 8 hour cook.
Should I put the heat on high instead and add baking soda to make it more alkaline?? Or wait? (I was planning on adding frozen peas, carrots, tomato sauce and sriracha at the last 2 hours but now I’m sure.
Any help is appreciated! This is my first time using a slow cooker lmao.
by ThatWillingness2210
8 Comments
That’s the pits. I have read that dry beans can get too old and never soften.
Do you have a pressure cooker? Pressure cooking the beans may help.
I buy canned black beans for whatever reason. 😇
2 hours isn’t nearly long enough, it’s pushing it for black beans on the stove for 2 hours.
Put the lid on and walk away for at least 5 hours. Every time you lift the lid, it adds 30 minutes to cook time.
2 hours on low is not enough time for anything to happen. Especially if they were cold to begin with.
You can tell because the veggies havent really even started cooking.
Just chill bro it’s cool, just leave lid on.
It’s relax mode cooking, unlike when I put a spatula right into the wet batter because I think I saw a bubble on the pancake or make a protein look like it was prepared by a cat cause I chiselled it off and forced it to flip.
Okay! I’ll chill tf out for a bit. Thank y’all — I’ll update in the thread later 😄😄
As you’ve discovered, adding anything acidic to dry beans will inhibit their ability to soften.
Having said that, I doubt it’s the issue. 2 hours on low is not long enough. I often cook pinto beans, and even 2 hours on high is not quite sufficient.
Yes, you can switch to high for maybe 1 to 2 hours and check every hour.
As to whether or not to add baking soda, it depends on how much lemon juice you added. If it was just a couple of tsps you may be okay. If you do add baking soda, just start with 1/4 tsp, don’t over do it.
I usually use dry beans when making chili. It’s usually 6 hours to be barely edible and 8-10 hours to be really done.
I recently did ham hocks and Great Northern beans in the Crockpot. I didn’t have to presoak them at all. Took about 6 hrs on low but my crockpot runs hot. I’d say 6-8 hrs is the norm.