Canned beans beat dried beans for my $1.50 chili, and I'll fight about it

I tried dried pinto beans for chili twice last month and both batches came out uneven, so I went back to two cans of store brand beans at $0.89 each and it was better every time. The dried ones cost less per pound but I burned gas simmering them for two hours and half still came out crunchy. Does anyone actually get dried beans soft without a pressure cooker, or am I just bad at soaking?

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mila_flores82d ago

Two hours of simmering is actually why they came out uneven, not the beans themselves. Store brand cans are fine for chili, but dried pintos do get soft without a pressure cooker if you soak them overnight and then simmer them low for about an hour to an hour and a half. The crunchy ones happen when the heat is too high, because the skins split and the insides stay hard while the water boils off. Also, salting the water too early can keep the skins tough, so hold the salt until they're almost done. Your cans still work for a fast pot of chili, but the dried ones aren't a lost cause, the timing was just off.

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