Sort through beans discarding any dried or shriveled beans
4 pounds dried beans
Drain beans and place in a large pot covered with at least 2 inches of water
Soak beans in water for at least 8 hours, or overnight You may also use a quick soak method - place beans in a pot, bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let soak for 1 hour.
Parcook Beans
Bring beans to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Beans will not be fully cooked.
Can Beans
Add ½ teaspoon of canning salt per each pint jar or 1 teaspoon per quart jar (optional)
½ teaspoon canning salt
Ladle beans into clean pint or quart canning jars. Fill to just under 1 inch from the rim.
Ladle hot cooking liquid over beans filling to 1 inch from the rim. This leaves 1 inch of headspace.
Remove air bubbles by using a small spatula or a bubble wand and running it around the inside of the jar.
Wipe down rim of jars with a clean cloth
Place a clean lid on jar. Add jar ring tightening just until snug. Do not overtighten ring.
Place jars in a pressure canner filled with 2 inches of simmering water. Continue with remaining jars until all jars have been filled
Place lid on pressure canner and lock in place
Turn heat up and allow steam to vent for 10 minutes. Place steam cover on and allow pressure to build to 10 pounds of pressure (or the pressure needed for your elevation - see chart below)
Pressure cook pints for 75 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes
Turn off heat and allow pressure to drop back to zero. Do not remove steam vent cover prior to pressure dropping!
After pressure has dropped, remove vent cover. Wait 5 minutes and then carefully remove lid. The contents will still be very hot! Allow jars to sit in canner for 10 minutes and then remove and place on a cooling rack.
Do not adjust rings or push down on lids! Cool jars for 12 hours and then check seals. Remove bands. Wash jars and then label with contents and date. Store in a cool pantry
Notes
If you are new to canning, please read through entire post above for all tips and safety steps.
Altitude Adjustment:
1000-2000 feet - 11 pounds of pressure
2001-3000 feet - 12 pounds of pressure
3001-6000 feet - 13 pounds of pressure
6001- 8000 feet - 14 pounds of pressure
8001-10000 feet - 15 pounds of pressure
TIPS
Use one type of bean or a variety of beans
I canned four varieties at once. The only drawback is you need four stock pots cooking the beans all at once before adding the beans to jars.
Different types of beans all have the same processing times
Select pint sized jars or quart sized jars depending on your personal uses and needs
One pound of dried beans equals approximately 4 pints of canned beans
If you have leftover beans that won't fit into a canning jar, you can finish cooking them on the stovetop and eat right away
Determine how many jars will fit in your pressure canner before beginning. My canner held 15 wide-mouth pint jars. My divider has a rim that only fit over 7 jars in the bottom and I could place 8 jars on the top
Do not skip the soaking step or the precooking step. This plumps the beans up so you don't overfill the jars. The beans are still firm and not fully cooked. They finish cooking in the pressure cooker.
Make certain the cooking liquid covers the beans when you add to the jars. If the jars are too full, just scoop out a few beans.
If any jars don't seal after the processing and cooling times, refrigerate and use right away.
Beans are best consumed within one year of canning