# Hard kidney beans in chili



## Dawgluver (Feb 27, 2017)

OK.  I broke my own cardinal rule.  My package of dry kidney beans were best by 4/15.  No problem, says I.  I did the quick soak method, thinking they'll be fine.  They're not fine.  They're still hard, and already cooked in some really good chili.  

Anything I can do to soften them up?  We've resorted to spitting the beans out on a paper towel.  I have a feeling it's an exercise in futility.


----------



## GotGarlic (Feb 27, 2017)

I'm pretty sure I've read in Cooks Illustrated that old dried beans dry out so much that they never soften up. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything you can do


----------



## Andy M. (Feb 27, 2017)

I fear if cooking them in your chili didn't do the trick, nothing will. Keep on spitting them out.


----------



## caseydog (Feb 27, 2017)

Dawgluver said:


> OK.  I broke my own cardinal rule.  My package of dry kidney beans were best by 4/15.  No problem, says I.  I did the quick soak method, thinking they'll be fine.  They're not fine.  They're still hard, and already cooked in some really good chili.
> 
> Anything I can do to soften them up?  We've resorted to spitting the beans out on a paper towel.  I have a feeling it's an exercise in futility.



Wow, if they are already in the chili, I'm not sure what you can do, other than try to find a way to get them out of the chili, other than spitting. 

If I were faced with this problem, I would probably try simmering the chili and beans for a long time, low and slow, before I'd give up on it, and toss it. Nothing to lose, IMO. 

Next time, do a five minute boil on your dry beans, and then let them soak in the boil water. Somehow, it starts a reaction that works better than just soaking the beans in cold water. 

CD

CD


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 27, 2017)

Yeah, I figured.  I simmered the chili for a long time. Thanks guys.

CD, I did the quick soak, meaning I boiled them, then covered and let them sit.


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 27, 2017)

Thinking I might spread the chili out on a cake pan, and pick out the stupid hard beans.  Labor intensive, but I'm not going to throw out all that nice ground beef and seasonings.  I'm too cheap.


----------



## dragnlaw (Feb 27, 2017)

Save your spits!!!  

Wash them, let them dry - then use them to blind bake your pies... 

You line your pie shell with foil or parchment - fill them up to the brim and blind bake your shells!  

No one has to know "how" they've been recycled!  Just like those coffee beans from guano - (think it's coffee, isn't it?)

Tell people you paid a fortune for those beans having been recycled thru the mouths of _______  (you fill in the blank with whatever exotic animal you care to name)

Do I win a prize for the best solution?


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 27, 2017)

Heh.  Too late, dragn!  Great idea though.  I put the chili in a cake pan and picked out as many beans as I could, then threw them in the trash.

I'll add some canned black beans to the chili.  Whodathunk two year old kidney beans would be so ornery?

I think it's a wild cat that poops out coffee beans.  Haven't tried it.


----------



## sparrowgrass (Feb 28, 2017)

Beans will never soften in tomato sauce--they should be fully cooked before adding to the chili.  Something about the acid in the tomatoes.


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

sparrowgrass said:


> Beans will never soften in tomato sauce--they should be fully cooked before adding to the chili.  Something about the acid in the tomatoes.




Good point, sparrow.  Lesson learned.  I boiled the heck out of the beans prior to adding them, they were still hard, but I figured they'd soften up.  I should have gone with my first instincts, and not used them, but I was out of kidney beans, and the dry expired ones were all I had.  Never again!


----------



## CraigC (Feb 28, 2017)

So you used your bag of "pie weights" in your chili.


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

Yeah, I guess I did!  But I don't bake pies...


----------



## CraigC (Feb 28, 2017)

Dawgluver said:


> Yeah, I guess I did!  But I don't bake pies...



Might be a good time to start if you have anymore out dated beans!


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

Looking through my bean collection right now.


----------



## salt and pepper (Feb 28, 2017)

Pressure cook them (the chili) what can you loose?


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

They're in the trash now.  We're eating Texas chili I guess, bean-free!


----------



## medtran49 (Feb 28, 2017)

salt and pepper said:


> Pressure cook them (the chili) what can you loose?


 
Sometimes they get to the point that even the pressure cooker can't get them soft.  {{{shh, don't ask me how I know}}}


----------



## CraigC (Feb 28, 2017)

Dawgluver said:


> They're in the trash now.  We're eating Texas chili I guess, bean-free!



Now you're onto something! "We don't need no stinking beans"!


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

Chili without beans is taco filling.  Hm.


----------



## dragnlaw (Feb 28, 2017)

So I googled the problem and the common denominator is... it seems that AGE of the beans seem to be the culprit.

One suggestion given was to find and shop at grocers that cater to ethnic groups that use beans on a daily basis.  This way you are pretty sure to get "fresh" dried beans.

I know I'm repeating what others have said...   so it must be true!


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 28, 2017)

Yep.  My first clue was they all had little canes and walkers.

This has never happened to me before, and I've made a lot of chili.  Will pay close attention to the Use By date, they actually mean it!


----------



## blissful (Feb 28, 2017)

Dawgluver said:


> Yep.  My first clue was they all had little canes and walkers.




That made me laugh!

I've cooked beans for AGES, from dry, only from dry. I ran into hard beans once in 40 years. It happened when I was young impressionable and it was easy for me to believe I was a bad cook at that point. I buy them anywhere and anytime and I often store them for 4-5 years at a time. You'll probably never see that happen again. But now, I'll look for beans with walkers and little canes.


----------

