I'm assuming those were from the bag of beans they sell? Did you pre-cook or soak the beans or just put them in the crock pot still dried? I've wanted to try doing it that way...
That's the ones! I love those bag of beans.
I add a sliced kielbasa to it and let it cook all day. Every place I've taken them, not a bean left in the pot!
I soak the beans. You can probably get by with just rinsing them off. I either soak mine for the gazillion hours they require or do the quicker soak version (can't think of how that goes off the top of my head). The only reasons I could remember for soaking the beans were, a) my mom does it, and b) it reduces gas (so they say). I looked it up. It's interesting reading. Here's a link below:
** I keep the beans on "low" about 1/2 a day and switch to "keep warm" for the remainder, after soaking and they don't get mushy. Sometimes I've forgotten and kept them on low all day. Still good.
http://www.missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtosoak.html
Why do I have to soak beans?
A lot of people have misconceptions about soaking beans. Beans are grouped according to hardness, and not all beans need to be soaked. The softer categories of legumes like Split Peas, Lentils and Butterbeans can be quickly pressure cooked without soaking, but the hardest beans, such as the Soybean, are so hard they need a full 12 hours to rehydrate.
Many think the main reason to soak beans is to minimize gas, and while it's true that soaking does help to remove the indigestible complex sugars (oligosaccharides) from the outer coating of the beans, it's certainly not the primary reason to soak.
Probably the most important reason for soaking is that it allows shorter cooking times, and that preserves the most nutrients, so you get the benefits of all the proteins, vitamins and minerals in the beans and maximize their food value. According to the California Dry Bean Advisory Board, there's no need to worry that soaking is going to remove the proteins, enzymes or other nutrients that are stored within the beans.
If your family's nutrition isn't enough to convince you to soak those beans, here's another convincing argument; Beans are dirty!
Beans go through a series of threshing and sifting processes, but none of these steps include washing because any moisture could cause the beans to mold or start sprouting. So lets be clear, soaking the beans is the only way to clean them and remove the accumulated surface dirt, bacteria, and nasty stuff like insect larva, rodent contamination, and any fertilizer or pesticide residues that might be present -- what the industry politely calls 'field dust' -- none of which you'd likely want to eat.
Soaking also allows beans to slowly absorb the liquid they need to cook evenly and completely so they don't split open, lose their skins, or cook only the outer surface while the middle remains hard.
Soaking cuts the cooking time by as much as 70%, so most soaked beans will pressure cook in as little as 8 to 15 minutes. That saves you -- and your wallet -- a bit of cash in using less cooking fuel, and that in turn, means that you can help the environment by using less energy with shorter cooking times. If you fail to soak the beans first, a large part of the cooking time (and energy expense) is wasted while the beans rehydrate to the point where they actually can begin to cook and soften, extending the cooking time to 40-60 minutes.
And lastly, soaking helps further break down those pesky oligosaccharides, the indigestible sugars that cause gas in beans, as well as removing tannins, phytic acid and tryspin inhibitors.
Do I really have to rinse beans after soaking?
Of course you do! You really don't want to eat whatever is in all that dirty soaking water do you? Don't use the soaking water to cook the beans in, not only does it contain all the gas causing, indigestible complex sugars of oligosaccharides that have leached off the outer coating of the beans, but also all the other revolting stuff that came off the beans.
Doesn't sound so yummy if you stop and think about it, does it? So let's drain off the filthy old water the beans have been soaking in, and then give them one final rinse before putting them in the pressure cooker and adding more fresh, cold water for cooking.
It's been a long time. And it's cold. I want to try the Pasta Fagiole soon. I was glad to see that recipe.
