You only need to soak uncooked pinto beans. If you’ve got a can of pinto beans, they’ve already been cooked and only need to be reheated. If you see any blackened or cracked beans, pick them out and throw them away.
If a few beans float to the top, it just means that there’s some air trapped in the shell. Don’t worry about it, they’ll sink as they take on more water.
Soaking the beans allows them to absorb some water, making them a little more flavorful when you cook with them. If you don’t soak your beans, they’ll take much longer to cook and they will taste a little chalky. They can also have some unpleasant digestive side effects if you don’t soak them.
If you want to dilute the flavor of the broth a little, use 1 teaspoon (4. 9 mL) of broth for every 1 US quart (950 mL) of water.
The water or broth needs to simmer, but if it starts to boil, turn the heat down a little bit.
Garlic, garlic salt, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne pepper are all popular choices that pair well with pinto beans. Bacon is a popular ingredient to add while the beans cook. This is an essential step if you’re making baked beans. Add 1 strip of cooked bacon, chopped into 1 inch (2. 5 cm) squares for every 1 pound (450 g) of beans.
Avoid stirring too aggressively. As the beans heat, the skin softens. If you stir too firmly, you could crush some of your beans.
Drain the beans in a colander after they’re done cooking.
If you’re using a slow cooker or crock pot, you can soak your beans in it to save yourself from washing an extra dish.
Cooked ham hock and bacon are common additions to slow cooker recipes involving pinto beans. Chopped or diced onions pair well with slow cooker beans. Add 1 onion for every 1 pound (450 g) of beans.
You can use broth if you want, but the beans will really absorb the flavor more than they usually would. This makes water the more preferable option.
You can raise the heat towards the end of the cooking process to speed it up a little bit.
If you have a manual can opener (also called a camp opener), hold the opener in your right hand. Puncture the inside rim of the can with the pointed blade. Then, turn it like your turning the ignition in a car until you’ve carved around the entire can. Canned beans are already cooked, so you really only need to heat them. If you were really hungry though, you could eat them right out of the can.
If you don’t want to rinse them, draining the can and replacing the water removes a lot of the sodium on its own.
Add any seasonings that you want to add while the beans are heating. Stir them in with a wooden spoon after you’ve added them. You really don’t need to add more salt to canned beans unless you’ve purchased a sodium-free can and want to add a little bit of salt. Heating the beans on the stove is preferable to heating them in the microwave because the beans will cook more evenly. The microwave is quicker though.
Glass and ceramic are always microwave-safe unless they’re painted. To check, look on the bottom of a bowl and look for the words “microwave safe. ” Some containers will have a symbol with 3 waves on it to indicate that the container is safe for the microwave. Be careful when removing the container that the beans were heating in. It may be exceptionally hot when you take it out depending on the material that the bowl is made out of. Seasonings can be added before you microwave the beans by mixing them in before you heat them. You can also add them after they’ve heated and mix them in while you’re letting the beans cool if you want.
