Go to the Recipe: Baked Beans
Do you see any issues, scorching etc, if one was to double the recipe in the same size PC?
The video shows them bringing it up to a simmer uncovered. You can pretty much maintain full pressure on the lowest stove setting, so you shouldn't have issues.
what if you don't have a pressure cooker?
This recipe looks amazing! I'm interested in using a slow cooker (crockpot) instead. Any tips on how to make this recipe succesful in that cooking vessel?
You would probably need about 8 to 12 hours of simmering in the crockpot to get to something very similar to our result. But it would still be very good after only about 4 hours of simmering in a crockpot.
See comment about doing these in a crockpot. It will absolutely work, but will require more time. Minimum of 4 hours of simmering, with 8 to 12 hours being better.
Lastweak i tried to make it.I had the double amount of beans,so i doubledall the other ingredients...disaster!from the middle of the recipe's stepsi saw that it was too watery but i was in a hurry to realize that it wasmeant to be also too sweet too smoked-pasted-molased too worcestershiredtoo everything.I tried again with the double amount of beans and +30% ofeverything else with much better results except the salt which i think it wouldhave been better if it was +40-50%. And i was wondering why you havent putupscalers on your recipes...My point is that now i understand why it is sodifficult for you to put an upscailer for that kind of recipes but atthe same time i m sure you have speant quite some time onthat so i would like to hear from you any solution thoughts etc onupscailing
Had some issues with this recipe. It was so salty that it was pretty much inedible. I thought that 16g seemed like a lot but followed the recipe anyway. Then with adding the bacon which was probably salty on it's own it was just way too much.There was also too much liquid. It was more like bean soup than baked beans. I used a potato masher to crush some of the beans and reduced it some which thickened it but it was still too soupy. I did soak the beans for about 17 hours instead of 6 if that matters and used great northern beans instead of navy.Has anyone else had these problems?
Any ideas for a bacon substitute for non pork eaters?
If you can find a heavily smoked turkey breast, that wouldn't be a bad choice.
This was a surprisingly challenging recipe, but I finally got it, and the final result was well worth it -- the best baked beans I have ever made, or even tasted.I think that the biggest point of difficulty is the issue of finding the correct quantity of the beans. The ingredients list 400g of beans, but the first step of the instructions say to soak 200g (I suspect that this lead to the soupiness some experienced). Adding potential confusion is the fact that it is unclear to some (like me) whether the recipe calls for 400 grams of beans, soaked, or 400 grams of soaked beans -- a tremendous difference that I suspect led some to use the former and wind up with dry and uncooked beans (as I did). That the standard 1 pound packet of beans is close to 400g likely lead many to the wrong choice. Another point of difficulty I encountered is that it seems to me that not all of the beans I have encountered have been exactly alike, with some being drier than others, and the amount of absorption of water before cooking given varying soaking times and bean characteristics creates even more unknown variables.The first step in reaching my good result was finding better beans. I was using cheap supermarket beans (Goya brand), and switched to the much nicer looking Whole Foods house brand. The second -- and likely most important -- change was to measure with reference to pre-soaked beans, instead of weighing out 400 grams of dry beans and then soaking and utilizing all of them -- that was too much bean. The third change is that given the variation in beans and water absorption, I think it is necessary to be somewhat flexible in the water content and second cooking time, and to add some water if necessary to keep the beans quite moist after the first cooking step, or to allow them to cook for a few extra minutes. I can now reproduce excellent results, and given the simplicity of the ingredients and the minimal cooking time involved, this is a terrific addition to my repertoire that my kids (and I) really like a lot. I also add a half teaspoon (really a capful) of Wright's Liquid Smoke (unless I am using very smoky bacon), and sub Chinkiang Vinegar for the Apple Cider Vinegar.Thanks for the great recipe. This is not something that I would have tried if not for seeing it here.
Rob, thanks for the feedback. We're going to re-look at this recipe tomorrow and see if we can make it more clear.
This is a great recipe.
Glad you love it. Let us know how it scales.
- originally posted by Grant Lee Crilly
I posted it on the forum, but I scaled it to a can of tomato paste (173g), and the recipe turned out great. Other than the yield staying at 1200g and the instructions saying "Soak 430 g dry navy beans for at least 6 hours. Strain and reserve the beans. This will yield about 400g soaked beans." I didn't notice any anomalies.
We agree that the dish was way too salty and watery. 16g of salt is way too much. I wonder if the recipe has a mistake and the salt was meant to be included during the brining.
- originally posted by Marc Angers
This came out awesome, I added cut up hot dogs in with the bacon, I know its sorta ghetto but whatever, it was tasty.
Have a party next weekend for which one of the items I am tasked to bring is beans as a side dish for brisket and pulled pork. Decided to give this recipe a try and they turned out delicious (will back off a bit with the salt as they seemed a bit too salty with the addition of the bacon - also added a touch of cayenne for some spice). Now just need to decide how to scale as a side dish for about 50 people - any suggestions?
I also followed the recipe as written and found that it turned out too salty (I too attributed it to the level of saltiness in the bacon - in this case I used Benton's). I will be making them for a large crowd and will cut back on the salt quite a bit, if not entirely until after cooking off the bacon then adjusting as needed.
Thank you for a fantastic recipe! I just opened the pressure cooker and tasted these and they're amazing! Perfectly balanced in my opinion. I used locally raised Berkshire pork bacon. Yum.
Amazing recipe. Worked perfectly and was unbelievably delicious. Seemed like a lot of pepper and salt. But, wow, it worked. Would love to see more pressure cooker recipes. By the way, I presoaked the beans by cooking the dry beans with 3 cups of water at high pressure for 7 minutes. That way, I avoided the overnight step. It worked great, and I used the water from the presoak as part of the 360g of water.
I am completely convinced that the composer of this music was inspired by the food itself*.
*by which I mean it's farty.
I am wondering if everyone who is saying it is to salty is using Salt Pork instead of Bacon. The video looks like Salt Pork but maybe it is slab bacon, unsliced which you can get from the meat market then cube yourself. (what say you Chris Young) I am going to try it with good ole sliced store bacon instead. Will let you know how it turns out.
It made these and followed the recipe exactly except that I reduced the salt. I liked the consistency but I could really taste the baking soda which was a turn-off. I am wondering what will happen if I reduce the amount of baking powder?
We use bacon, and typically, the cheaper the bacon the saltier. In addition, if you taste baking soda, it simply means that it was not deactivated. So, cook longer, add acid or use less. If you cook longer the flavor will be better and the beans will be darker. If you omit, the flavor will be more bright and mellow.
Im wondering why you add baking soda. I understand the use in baking- but what does it do for a savory dish?
I assume the baking soda is to create an alkaline environment, which creates a maillard reaction. The Modernist Cuisine does this for onions and so on.
I skipped the soak stage and just increased the pressure cooking time and it worked wonderfully. (I also used a bone-in pork shoulder that I added right from the start)
I went with the recipe as is. First, the added water (step 2) should be about 500 ml (gr) - and after 25 min of cooking you may release the pressure and check the consistency - if needed cook some more several min. A smoked duck breast (after removal of fat) might be a good substitution to pork. A little different version of the final dish: fry (shortly, no oil) the pork cubes in a separate pot, add Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops) and calamari and cook till seared. Add to the beans and cook together for a min. Add the vinegar and some drops of Tabasco sauce - stir and serve No doubt the recipe is a magnificent tribute to the classic British culinary...
Hi in step 4 it says to cook at full pressure. I noticed in the video it showed 2 bars, does this mean its cooking at 29 psi rather than 15 psi like most PC (you had mentioned the brand of PC that you guys use can go up to 29 psi). So how do we adjust for the time?
On the Kuhn Rikon model, 2 red rings means high pressure about 15 psi (1 red ring is low pressure about 8 psi). The pressure in the pressure cooker is relative to the outside pressure, which is about 14 psi at sea level, so thats where the 29 psi absolute pressure comes in (14 + 15).
I am used to measurements such as tsp., TBSP, 1 c or 1/4 c, ect.. Also your dry and wet measurements aren't clear. How does 16 grams translate into tsp or TBSP? Even if you calculate the recipe in ounces, how does 1.4 oz or 0.56 oz translate into tsp. or TBSP?
I'm with you, Susan - I find these recipes very hard to follow. If you click on Scale above the recipe you can switch it to ounces, but even so the difference between wet and dry is obscure and the amounts are so odd they're hardly usable.
Hi Susan, I'm not affiliated with Chefsteps, but I think you'll find that this site (and modernist cooking generally) is very much--amongst other things--about precision. Using volume measurements like tablespoons and teaspoons, etc. leave a lot of room for variables. For example, a cup of flour can vary wildly depending on how much you pack it down. Using weight rather than volume isn't perfect if there's variations in the brands of ingredients, but it's certainly better.
It's also, in my opinion, much more enjoyable to cook when you can just drop a bowl on a scale and not need to use a bunch of measuring spoons/cups.
You can get both a precision scale and a scale suitable for greater weights on Amazon for ~$12 each. Message me if you need links/recommendations.
Give it a chance and you might find yourself writing weights into all your traditional cookbooks like I do.
I tried it and it was overall great (I never tried baked beans before) but somewhat too sweet. What would you recommend to do to bring sweetness down? Should I be reducing the amount of molasses, brown sugar or both?
Made it twice, latest version cooked the cubed bacon sous vide for 24 hrs at 158 F, added the bag juices to the pressure cooker with the other ingredients but added the bacon after 30 minutes under pressure with no additional cooking. Cut the water to 300 gms. Flavour great, bacon luscious, still a tad too soupy for my taste. Will cut to 250 gms water next time and hope it doesn't burn on bottom.
I just made these in preparation for the Super Bowl tomorrow, and they turned out amazingly! Thanks Chris Young and the ChefSteps crew for another great recipe!
I'm never going to buy baked beans again. These are just the best!
Hi Quinn, I like that, no soaking. By how much did you increase the cooking time?
I don't have a Kuhn Ricon, I did exactly what the recipe said and it turned out great. I wouldn't over complicate things unless you have a complicated PC.
I did 30 minutes (I'm not using bacon..) last time and was quite happy with the texture. So I'd recommend to try that and adjust to your liking. You should also add some water, around 200g to compensate what the beans would absorb while soaking.
Give me one good reason to measure dry and wet in different units?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uevI4-j-6A
I've made these 3 times and, like others, I don't ever want to buy baked beans again. I use 1/4 the amount of salt called for and it's just fine. Also, the most recent time I made it, I put the cubed bacon in at the start and cooked the whole thing for 30 minutes. One less step and I think it was the best batch yet.
Duck confit.....
Hi, When I bough t my KR pc I wrote to www.kuhnrikon.ch and was advised that that 15 psi was when the two lines were visible. i.e. just before pressure release. Other opinions may vary hence my mail to Kuhn. the other pressures were if memory recalls 8 and 10 psi’s. Off topic,- I use these cookers in preference to others as the containment of steam to be an advantage when using minimal vol. water.
Last trip to IKEA, they had introduced a pressure cooker in their kitchen ware line (I live in Sweden). A 4 liter cooker for 35 dollars. Back home I remembered that Chefsteps had some recipes, so I tried the Baked Beans. First try with a pressure cooker and it came out just beautiful. No more Heinz for me! Are there coming more pressure cooker recipes in the future?
For the life of me, I cannot understand why you don't use the measuring system most people in the U.S. use. I mean... 2.8oz tomato paste? .28oz Coleman Mustard, etc., ad nauseum. Attempting a recipe such as this one becomes an extended exercise in math rather than a pleasant cooking experience. Yeah...I know, your measurement systems are more accurate, BUT, I'm not running some chemical lab here, just a home kitchen. Show the measurements as you do now, for those who want them, but... ALSO... give a choice for those of us who would prefer to use... cups, tablespoons, teaspons, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup, and so forth. Thanks for your attention.
the recipe I see is in metric grams, I love this, cant stand it when pints quarts and oz etc. I have scales and I weigh everything, much faster. ps I live in Australia so we have had metric for years. When I brew all grain beer I use weight in kg and liquids in liters (my scales don't weigh 120 liters of water, but I can weigh 15 kg of grains) I brew a lot of beer, lol
With an 8 ltr pressure cooker is this the max amount you can do? of can you double or triple it? When I make it in a stock pot I used to make a huge amount and vacuum pack it into blocks and freeze it so I can just take a slab out of the freezer and re heat it (used about 2kg of dry beans so I would make a lot)
Measuring ingredients by weight vs using cups/tablespoons/teaspoons is both a lot more accurate and a lot easier. It does require a scale but those are cheap these days. Drop in 80grams of tomato paste, hit tare which resets to 0, drop in 40g of molasses, etc. Not only is this more accurate than using cups and tablespoons but it's also a lot simpler. Also, makes scaling things drastically easier, the math is actually a LOT simpler. Say your recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar. You want to scale the recipe 1.5 times, how many cups of sugar is that? If it calls for 40g it's easy, toss in 60g for 1.5 scaling. No need for a chemical lab, just a decent scale which is under $20. Check out http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/choosing-a-scale and http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/weight-vs-volume-speed Once you get used to it you'll love it.
For the life of me Ernest, I can't understand why you are carrying on, as your complaint is firstly unfounded in fact because you can easily click on "ounces" to display the ingredients in that manner if you prefer; secondly fails to appreciate that even if you are not concerned with accuracy and repeatability -- and can't be bothered to buy a $15 digital scale -- almost everybody else on this site is quite the opposite and understands that weighing ingredients is both easier and more efficacious, and doesn't want to deal with volume measurements or purchasing, storing, and cleaning the obsolete utensils you idiosyncratically seem to prefer to measure with; and thirdly, not nearly everybody on the site is in the United States and a good many of us live elsewhere, and while I doubt very many US citizens are troubled by metric mass measurements or unable to deal in base 10 mathematics without a calculator, you can be assured that the rest of the world is far more confused by the imprecise and vague ones which you seem to prefer. I'm just shocked every time I see this absurd and unfounded complaint repeated on so many threads.
Measuring is all about getting the exact same end result each and every time. Just for fun break out the scales, collect up all those different measuring cups you have in the pantry. Don't tell me you only have one set, now measure out one cup of flour into each different cup. this includes all those Pyrex measuring cups. Place a piece of wax paper on the scale. Now pour one measuring cup of flour on the scale and weight it. Record the results. pour that flour back into the flour storage container. Now use another measuring cup to measure out one cup and weight the flour. Each time write down the weight beside which measuring cup you used. notice variations in weight? I bet you see a wide range of weights. If you want consistent results every time you have to weight everything. metric is easy to use as long as you don't attempt to compare ounces, cups, teaspoons and tablespoons for weights. Now tell me when the recipe reads a scant 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, exactly how much is a scant amount? If you hate hot peppers a scant amount is critical. If you like hot peppers then a heaping 1/4 teaspoon is ok, but the results will vary every time but if it says 2 grams of pepper you will know how much burn to expect every time.
Any difference between using plain canned beans vs fresh ones. We're talking just the beans here, not flavored.
agreed. 1.3x for a double batch worked really well. Though I don't need more salt. Perhaps my bacon cure is stronger than yours? A bit soupy but I'm leaving the cover off until the morning in hopes it'll evaporate some in time for dinner.
You brew it in metric and yet you consume it in imperial ("pints"). Go figure.
