I knew this was an old thread when I saw Oxner had posted.

But it's beans! I firmly believe that stove top beans beat crock pot beans but the convenience of the crock pot can trump that belief. Enter the pressure cooker.

I wash and clean a bag of beans and dump in my PC. Boil for ten minutes and set aside to soak for twenty more. I dump the water, rinse the beans and fill the PC half full of water. I like to add a ham shank but can do just as well with bacon drippings from the fridge. Salt, pepper, a little sugar. Coarse chopped onion and a can of Hatch chopped green chilis. Close lid and bring up to 15psi for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool naturally. The PC really drives in the seasoning, so don't over do it. Results in a very thick stock and very tender whole beans. I think it's better than my cast iron Dutch oven can do. I recently found moms big canning PC in the shed at the lake and just got it refitted with the soft parts. It'll make big batches using the same method.

All of the above mixed together would change your life forever

If you are doing a whole ham or doing a spiral cut ham for the Holidays, the bone will be your most treasured part of the leftovers. Quit serving the ham while you still have some good meat on the bone and hoard it away in the refrigerator or freezer for your next pot of beans. You get sooooooooooooo much more flavor than you do with bacon, salt pork or ham hocks. I always cook a ham for The Holidays just so we can have a bone for a wonderful bean and cornbread supper after all thE Holiday company.

2 lbs. beans
1 can rotel
Tbs. chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper
1/2 chopped poblano pepper
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic diced
1 ham bone or other smoked pork bones or meat. ham bone is best.
salt to taste

Cover well with water and simmer for 3 - 3 1/2 hours until beans are tender adding water to keep beans covered.

Add some chopped cilantro about 30 minutes before done.

Freeze what is left in medium cartons.

Makes great refried beans by thawing and adding a little oil to a cast iron skillet and mashing them with a potato masher.

1 pound of beans in the slow cooker, cover with 2" of water, 1 table spoon each of black pepper, salt and sugar. 6-8 cloves of chopped garlic, small onion diced and 1 pound of Zummo's Cajun style Boudin. Cover and cook on high 8-10 hours. Serve with fresh cornbread.

Plus this ....Use Chicken Broth..no water, 1 Bay leaf, cayenne pepper,paprika, oregano

I buy Borracho beans at HEB. They are already great. Heat and serve..

Well the only thing I can add to this is.

I grilled some pork loins on the charcoal grill with Bodacious rib seasoning rub. Sliced about 1/2" thick and bagged in 3/4lb bags in the freezer. When I cook beans I add a bag of the pork loin to it.

To make the best tasting beans ever do this. Soak overnight and slow cook for 4-5 hrs. Do not put any seasonings in until the last hour. A professional told me that you are wasting your seasonings if you put them in at first. He said the hulls are still hard and don't absorb the flavor. I have tried this several times and they have the most awesome flavor and tenderness! Try it.

1 # Beans
Soak beans over night..wash a couple times before adding below
No water/use chicken broth
1 med. onion chopped
1 cup tomato sauce or Rotel
1 Jalapeno chopped
3 med. garlic cloves chopped finely
1 tblsp Kosher salt
1 tblsp. ancho chile powder
1 teasp. chili powder
1 teasp cider vinegar
1 teasp. cumin
1 teasp. packed dark brown sugar
1 teasp. paprika
1/2 teasp. ground pepper
1/2 teasp dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 Bay Leaf
Smoked ham hocks or ham bone w/ meat on it !!
Bring the above to a boil, then turn down to simmer until done..paying attention to liquid level.
Some folks put in their favorite sausage pieces when
beans are half cooked.

and Jalapeno Cornbread

Like CAST. I use a pressure cooker, a very old Presto my Mother had when I was a kid in the 50's. I do it basically like CAST, but my wife recently had a bleeding stomach ulcer and can't have any pepper or most spicy stuff we love. So, I cook them with salt, garlic, minced onions, and have to add the bionics to mine, after they are done. She is without the Rotel, habaneros, and wine! It's not a happy home, but, she's healing.

Had a bowl right after the Cowboys suffered a loss due to lame play calling and coaching. The Pack was definitely up for the game. Congrats to them. Please beat the Pats in the Super Bowl!

Island Jim

try adding a diced tomato and a bottle of beer

boracho beans are the best

I've been cooking red beans (pintos) for over 50 years now. I've cooked them hundreds of ways. Betcha I've cooked over 5,000 pots of beans in my life. I've experimented and tested and...now I just throw them together based mostly on what I have at hand. There's a method to it, but it is a flexible method.

The basics:

Clean dry beans. Usually about 2 cups or so.
Water. Enough to fill after all ingredients are added.
Enamel coated dutch oven - it has a heavy lid and acts like a low pressure pressure cooker. Drives the flavor into the beans better. The coated cast iron does not react with the acid in the tomatoes the way uncoated cast iron can. Any covered pot will do, but love the dutch oven for this.
Cumin, heavy hand.
Chili Powder, medium hand.
Black Pepper, heavy hand.
Salt, medium hand.
Garlic, medium hand
Onion, heavy hand
Tomato Paste, small can
Crushed tomatoes, average size can

Variables:

Bacon grease, or smoked brisket trimmings, or smoked ham trimmings, or ham bone, or salt pork, or smoked ham hocks.

I do not pre-soak, that fills the beans with plain water and makes it hard to get flavoring down into the bean.

I cook with salt from the get-go because I like the bean to have a bit of a bite to it, and the salt gives it that body. I stir as little as possible so as to not break the beans up.

If the meat I add isn't fatty enough I'll add bacon grease, I want rendered meat fat grease to get into the beans.

I prefer smoked brisket fat trimming with a bit of meat on it, but will use the other meats listed, depending on what I have. Whenever I smoke on the smoker I keep trimmings back in the freezer for making beans. I'm thinking of trying to smoke the beans before cooking them - that would require pre-soaking them (put soaked beans in a colander into smoker), but haven't tried it yet.

Typically it takes about 3 hours for them to get done, usually have to add water a couple of times.

Sometimes I leave out the tomatoes and tomato paste, depends on my tongue's mood at the time.

I chop another onion up fresh to mix in the beans when I eat them. I like the taste and texture fresh onion adds.

One thing about beans, they are a blank palette that you can paint pretty much anything on.