Advice on soaking beans for Chili

[ducks4you]

DH is on a very low sodium diet, as you may know. He needs to make a test batch of low sodium chili for my Annual Salsa Party (October 8-9) because we make salsa and chili, and then everybody else brings something to eat, but beans in a can have a lot of salt. I have never soaked beans before, but I can control the salt if I do. Does anybody soak their beans before adding them to the chili, and which beans do you prefer? ANY advice is appreciated. We need to buy the beans this week. Thanks!!!

 

[thistlebloom]

I have always used dry pintos for chili. After sorting through them to make sure there are no small stones and rinsing them, I cover them deeply with water and let them soak overnight.
You can then drain the water and refill with fresh water to cook. They take about 3 hours to get tender, (more or less). Don't add any salt or spices until they are cooked because it could make them tough.

You can shortcut the soaking time by bringing the rinsed and water covered beans to a boil, turning off the heat and letting them sit for an hour. Drain (if desired) refill with water and cook as usual.

Use about 3 times the amount of water to beans. They really absorb a lot.

 

[so lucky]

I have read several sources that say to add a bit of ACV to the soak water, to help break up the chemical reaction that causes gas. Last time I cooked beans, I soaked them with ACV overnight, changed the water, added more vinegar, soaked a few more hours, rinsed and cooked. No gas. Yea!
I think the instructions say a tablespoon ACV per cup of beans, but I bet any amount would help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nothing wrong with pinto beans for chili but red kidney beans are more my standard. I imagine others use different beans but I'm pretty sure pinto and red kidney are the normal ones. Rinse the beans after soaking. That helps remove the stuff that causes gas whether you use vinegar or not. Sometimes when I soak beans I get a white substance come out. If that happens just rinse it away. A colander works well for rinsing.

Use lots of water to soak them. They absorb a lot of water and greatly increase in size. You don't want the ones on top getting dry if they swell up out of the water.

 

[thistlebloom]

I've read that you lose a lot of the B vitamins when you discard the soak water. Sometimes I don't.

If you eat beans on a regular basis they aren't gas producing. They have a lot of fiber, so I guess that's the main culprit.

 

[baymule]

Beans, beans
The musical fruit
The more you eat
The more you toot
The more you toot
The better you feel
So be sure to
Eat beans at every meal

 

[Sam BigDeer]

Another hint/trick to achieve soft, well-cooked beans that I follow somewhat religiously is this: During the actual cooking process it is normal for the liquid (water) to evaporate and get soaked up by the beans to the point that you'll have to add more liquid during cooking so the beans remain submerged the entire time.. Watch them rather carefully and have another pot of water heating nearby, (a tea kettle works great for this,) and when the liquid level in the bean pot gets low (don't wait until level is below topmost beans!) add very hot water to bring the level back up to desired point..
If you use room temp or cooler water in the cooking beans you'll wind up with crunchy rocks!!
So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it....
Hank

 

[Nyboy]

Bay here it, Goes beans beans they are good for your heart. The more you eat the more you fart. The more you fart the better you feel. So eat beans at every meal.

 

[ducks4you]

These are GREAT replies! I think I have enough information to start, BUT, if you have anything else to add, please do!!!

 

[canesisters]

... I'm so lazy..
I just take my biggest crockpot, toss in a couple of cups of dry red beans and white beans, a quart of diced tomatoes, a chopped onion, some chili powder, minced garlic, maybe another quart of crushed tomatoes - or a pint of tomatoes and a pint of water, browned ground beef (or shredded chicken or browned sausage or diced venison or whatever) and put the top on and go to work. When I come home it's done and thick enough to stand a spoon up in. Then add some sour cream or shredded cheese or diced onion...
10 mins of 'work' = meals for a week.