When I think of comfort food Great Northern Beans comes to mind. When my mom would cook beans, you would be able to smell them all over the house, she would always use either a smoked ham shank or ham hocks to prepare her beans. She would cook them on the stove-top for hours until they were nice and tender. In my recipe I am using the same seasonings that my mom used in her recipe, but I am using my Ninja Foodie Pressure cooker/Air Fryer to prepare my beans, this process is faster with the same outcome
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Using my Ninja Pressure cooker, I was able to cook my beans in less than 2 hours and the result was amazing. The beans were tender and made their own gravy. What I mean by gravy is when you cook beans correctly they will make an sauce, I have seen professional chefs cook beans and then take a hand blender and blend them slightly just to make a thicker sauce with the beans, well using my method you will not have to blend them and I kid you not they will make their own sauce.
The first thing that I do when preparing beans is pick them, meaning that I literally sort through my beans removing any foreign matter such as rocks and beans that appear dark or discolored. Then I rinse them in a colander and put them in a bowl and cover them with water and soak them. You can do this the day before and soak them over night or you can soak them for about 3 hours until they plump in size, using a pressure cooker or Insta pot, I found that there is no need to soak them overnight because the beans will still cook faster.
Another thing to remember, please do not put too much water in your beans, only put enough to cover the beans, don’t worry about the meat, the ham hocks or ham shank are pretty thick, but they will be tender and fall apart when the beans are done. That is why you should cook the meat for about 25 minutes before adding the beans.
In my recipe I cooked the meat for 25 minutes in one cup of water and only added 3 cups when I added the beans. Doing this will provide the beans with the right amount of water which will make a nice sauce when the beans are done. Adding the butter to the recipe gave the beans a creamy texture, you have to try this recipe, and it works well with what ever beans you decide to use, Black Eyed Peas, Pinto Beans, Navy Beans, and even Lima Beans. Below is the recipe and video, so put some corn bread in the oven and try this recipe, you’ll be glad you did.
GREAT NORTHERN BEANS – NINJA FOODI PRESSURE COOKER/AIR FRYER
INGREDIENTS
1 Pound of Great Northern Beans (Picked & Soaked)
1 Ham Shank or 2 Ham Hocks (Smoked)
1 Cup of Water (For Ham Shank or Hocks)
3 Cups of Water (For Beans)
2 Teaspoons of Onion Powder
2 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon of Salt
3 Tablespoons of Butter
1 Medium Red Onion
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Red Pepper
DIRECTIONS
Pick Beans for Rocks and Foreign Matter, Rinse until water runs clear, Soak Beans for 3 hours or overnight.
To Ninja cooker bowl, add 1 cup of water and add Ham Shank or Ham Hocks, set the cooker to Pressure, High, 25 minutes. After 25 mins the cooker will beep, release the air from cooker, when air is released open lid and add Beans, 3 Cups of Water, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Salt. Set cooker to Pressure, High, 1 hour. After 1 hour, release air, then add Red Onion, Butter, Sugar, and Ground red Pepper. Set cooker to Pressure, Low, 15 minutes. After 15 mins, release air, when air is released, open lid, the Beans should be done, Enjoy!