Beans

[Lan]

This post will tell you how to make the perfect pot of beans overnight in a crock pot. (Total cook time - 20 hours) There are many ways you can cook beans but this requires very little effort because the beans don't have to be tended to.

Things you'll need:

Lard
Handful of Carrots
Couple stalks of celery
1 medium onion (I use yellow, but it probably doesn't matter that much)
A few cups of dry beans (I use pinto because they're cheap and easy to find) There are probably hundreds of beans out there. They all cook a bit different so this recipe is for pinto beans; although I don't think it would make a ton of difference unless you're a bean snob.
Chicken stock (32 OZ)
64OZ water
Salt - Important! Don't add salt until the last hour or so of cooking. Salt can easily overwhelm the whole batch so use it sparingly. I suggest using a pinch until you reach a desired level.

All these ingredients have one thing in common- they're inexpensive.

First thing is first, the lard I use is from bacon I've cooked earlier. The best thing you can do is save the grease from your bacon cooking by sacrificing a ceramic coffee cup, pouring the hot liquid in it before it solidifies in your pan and freezing it. Each batch of beans with need about a tablespoon of lard and your bacon grease will yield about a cup of grease. If you're on a budget like my family is, you reuse what you can.

Chop up your veggies (this veggie combo is called a Mirepoix- Fancy huh?) and throw them in a hot pan of now liquified bacon grease (Lard). Stir frequently until veggies are soft. Put the Mirepoix in the crockpot with your beans.

Crockpot overnight on high (6 hours) plus another 6 hours when you wake up. Use the 32oz chicken stock and 32 oz of water for overnight cook and another 32oz water in the morning for the second 6 hour cook time. My crockpot sets whatever is in it to 'warm' setting once the 6 hours is up. So I put the beans on about 9pm, turn the heat on high again when I wake up and enjoy them by 5pm the next day. Total cook time - 20hours