Posted: 12/31/2011 5:16:40 PM EDT
| So I just made the best pot of beans ever, I am sure it helped that I had the left over ham juice and bone from the Christmas ham to start things out with. Anyway after a few hours of simmering I started to think about the best way to store cooked beans. If or when we have to break into the bean stash I would think that it would be best to cook a couple days worth at once since beans tend to take a little fuel to cook. So how long will beens keep after cooked without refrigeration? Of course this time of year finding a cold spot is no problem but what about in warmer times. |
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I doubt they would keep very long without refrigeration. Especially since you cooked them in ham juice. If you have no refrigeration don't cook more than you can eat in one day.
As far as the fuel required to cook beans, start by soaking them over night (which you probably did), then cook them in a pressure cooker. It's way faster. |
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I doubt they would keep very long without refrigeration. Especially since you cooked them in ham juice. If you have no refrigeration don't cook more than you can eat in one day. As far as the fuel required to cook beans, start by soaking them over night (which you probably did), then cook them in a pressure cooker. It's way faster. pressure cooker is the bomb........playing with the kuhn rikon I bought myself for christmas........12 minute black bean chili |
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I pressure can stuff like that for LTS. 
But once you cook it to the point that the beans are done enough to eat (like you have) it's too late to can the rest. Because it has meat you have to process (quarts) 90 minutes and the already cooked beans will have turned into mush by then. So, if you're going to make a huge batch of that and want to can some, you have to do the canning first with your soaked but uncooked beans and any vegetables, then finish cooking the rest of the soup that you want to eat fresh. |
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Waldo, Do you think canned deer meat soup would be good after 1.5 years? I have 4 quarts of it and am almost afraid to eat it, without asking an expert. I know you asked Waldo, but here is what I would do: If the jars have been stored without the rings and the seals are tight - that is a good sign. If there is nothing growing in the jar - that is a good sign. If you pop off the seal and it does not smell rancid - that is a good sign. If you taste it and it does not taste rancid - that is a good sign. 
The above pretty much holds for all canned goods. Home or commercial. |
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Waldo, Do you think canned deer meat soup would be good after 1.5 years? I have 4 quarts of it and am almost afraid to eat it, without asking an expert. I'm not a USDA canning expert, but I'd eat it (if it was properly processed). Dump it if you have doubts. <shrug>. |
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Add some molasses and they'll last surprisingly long. I haven't tried non-fridge/non-canned storage, but I'd imagine they last a lot longer than beans w/o the sweetness. Also, try not to add many fats if you aren't going to be storing them at the proper temperature.
Canned is your best bet, but I'm convinced the recommended shelf life on items is often times WAY too low. I often make a big ol' pot of boston baked beans and then they wander to the back of the fridge for several weeks. Reheated they end up tasting just as good (if not better) as fresh and no ill effects. But then again, my stomach is adjusted to eating street food from third world countries so YMMV. |
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So how long will beens keep after cooked without refrigeration? Follow-on question: Is lack of refrigeration a reason why refried beans became so popular in some regions of the world? Quoted:
As far as the fuel required to cook beans, start by soaking them over night (which you probably did), then cook them in a pressure cooker. It's way faster. Thermos cooking also works pretty well with Pinto beans - Requires just enough heat to (1.) get the beans boiling, and (2.) boil a little water for pre-heating the Thermos. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Waldo, Do you think canned deer meat soup would be good after 1.5 years? I have 4 quarts of it and am almost afraid to eat it, without asking an expert. I'm not a USDA canning expert, but I'd eat it (if it was properly processed). Dump it if you have doubts. <shrug>. the seals are not popped up. i have never eaten any home canned meat products that were over a year old. I always thought a year was the cut off for meats, but I am not sure, as last year was my first year of canning meats. |
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Follow-on question: Is lack of refrigeration a reason why refried beans became so popular in some regions of the world? I was going to say that lack of refrigeration might not have been the reason, however, perhaps it was. I think refried beans are result of using the beans from prior meals before they go bad My wife (100% Texan of Hispanic origin) will make a pot of pinto beans that we will have at lunch and/or dinner. The next morning, leftover beans are mashed up and some fat added (in our house usually bacon grease) and they are heated up in a skillet and eaten with breakfast She learned this from her mother and grand-mother. ETA: Most everything my wife cooks is done in cast iron. My calphalon pans disappeared to the rear of the cabinets soon after we got married. |
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Waldo, Do you think canned deer meat soup would be good after 1.5 years? I have 4 quarts of it and am almost afraid to eat it, without asking an expert. I'm not a USDA canning expert, but I'd eat it (if it was properly processed). Dump it if you have doubts. <shrug>. the seals are not popped up. i have never eaten any home canned meat products that were over a year old. I always thought a year was the cut off for meats, but I am not sure, as last year was my first year of canning meats. We often eat meat that has been canned for a year or a few years. It is just fine. I feel better eating our meat canned in glass jars, rather than in metal cans. I do not have the concerns about chemicals or rust leaching from the glass like I do with the metal cans. The canning lids are metal, but there is an air space between the lid and the meat, so in most cases, there is no metal to food contact after the initial canning process. |