Simple Southern Pinto Beans
You will love this easy southern pinto beans recipe. Drop the ingredients in a slow cooker then serve a meal that tastes like you slaved all day. This is one of the staple meals in our kitchen.
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I remember pinto beans, better known in the south as “Soup Beans,” being a regular staple meal in my home when I was younger. My grandmother would occupy me for a while with the job of “looking the beans.” Now that I am older, I realize that she gave me a job that she could have done in five minutes to keep me busy for half an hour. She was a wise woman.
My grandmother and my mom were also frugal women. It wasn’t until I was older with my own home and family that I realized that about three pounds of soup beans cost only a few dollars and can be stretched to feed a family over several days. The beans are served the first day with a pan of southern cornbread and fried potatoes. The next day, they become the base of a pot of our family’s favorite chili and finally, that chili can be served on hotdogs. You get the idea?
So, all that said, here is how I make “Soup Beans”:
Simple Southern Pinto Beans
Ingredients
3 lbs Pinto Beans (for a 7 qt crockpot, 2 lbs for a 5 qt)
1 Seasoning Chunk, a.k.a. Pork Side Meat or if you are from the south Fat Back!
Instructions
{Do this the night before you want to have beans for dinner or very early in the morning on the day of if you want to eat them later in the evening.}
Look the beans. This is not a difficult process. You are basically making sure there are no rocks or bad beans in your batch. Put the beans in a large colander and run water over them while washing them with your hands. Then drop them by handfuls into a larger crock pot (I recommend at least a 7 quart) as you look them over.
Fill the crock pot with water. You will definitely want to make sure you fill your crock pot. The beans will soak up all the water and you may need to add some more in the morning or in the afternoon.
Add the pork to the crock pot on top of the beans.
Turn the crockpot on low and let it cook for about 10 hours or until your beans are soft but not falling apart when you stir them.
Serving Tip
Serve with fresh tomatoes and southern style cornbread for a truly southern experience for dinner.
Southern Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Pinto Beans
- 1 chunk Pork Side Meat found in meat section of grocery store
Instructions
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Looks carefully through the dry beans for rocks or bad beans.
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Run water over beans in a large colander until the water runs clean
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Drop beans by handful in crock pot looking for bad beans or rocks
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Add pork side meat to crock pot
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Fill crock pot with water
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Cook on low for 8-10 hours