Marla wrote:to_our_health wrote: I have an old crockpot with just a manual low/high setting. What brand of dry beans do you use? Do you soak first? How do you cook them? Inquiring (inexperienced) minds would like to know!
Thanks!
Hi to_our_health!
I have an old crockpot too, with just high and low. It is just the standard size (about 3 quarts). I don't soak my beans -- I find that they get enough of a quick-soak effect as the crockpot heats up. I buy the bulk garbanzos at my regular grocery store (Winco), but I would use any old brand. I'd just try not to buy ones that have been sitting on the shelf too long if possible.
Some people think that soaking reduces the flatulence factor. I haven't found this to be true for me (I don't get much gas regardless), but if you notice a difference then by all means soak them overnight, drain, and proceed. Just reduce the cooking time by about an hour if you soak them.
Here's what I do:
--put a pound of dry garbanzos into the cold crockpot
--cover with water up to the knuckle on my index finger (about 6-7 cups).
--cover and set to high
--check after 4 hours. The timing will depend a lot on your crockpot and somewhat on how old the beans are, so I can't give you an exact time, but when you find your special magic number, write it down I have a book called Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker that says to cook soaked beans on high for 8-12 hours I can't imagine how that would turn out, but maybe some people's slow cookers are that wimpy? Mine gets them nice and soft in about 4 and a half hours. Your mileage may vary.
Then I use what I want at the time, and freeze the rest in can-sized servings (1 1/2 cups). Baggies work well for this.
Let me know how it works out for you if you try it! Soooo much cheaper (and I think they taste better too). The only thing is, sometimes the skins come off during cooking, and sometimes I overcook them (I like them soft), so they aren't always as pretty or as firm as the canned ones. But I am mostly going to smoosh them up anyway so I don't care
Thank you! I'm definitely going to try this...I use so many cans it would be great to cut down that expense. I'll let you know how it turns out!