Hmmm… interesting. I haven’t cooked RG Pintos yet but the regular store-bought ones take a really long time and need more water too. I guess it’s a Pinto thing. But they’re worth it. 
They’ll be delicious with the Carnitas.
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Do you mean more water than other varieties generally or because of the long cook? I promise I’m not trying to be pedantic I’m just genuinely curious about cooking times and bean types because of this discussion.
At exactly the same time this thread started I cooked a few pots of beans which I hadn’t done in a while. Not Rancho Gordo but I made pinto beans according this recipe:
Salt brine
Yield
Serving
It varied from the recipe in that it was made with leftover ribs rather than bacon and the bones were made into stock. I was interested to note that with the pressure cooker the beans cooked evenly despite the acid and I used half the recommended liquid since it was a closed container (hence my original question).
Hope this comment isn’t too far afield, I just appreciate the bean content and put my email in for bean club as soon as I’d heard about it on Good Food!
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I don’t know the answer to this question but am curious as well. I’m cooking chili next weekend and was going to use 3 different varieties of RG beans that vary in size. I’m using my Instant Pot and was just going to throw everything in at once as usual. I think it will be ok but I don’t want either smaller mushy beans or larger uncooked beans in my chili.
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Hi @WireMonkey -
This. I’ve been following RG’s direction of 2” of water above bean line, which probably turns out to be more than 2” because the beans release some soaking liquid, but am finding some beans soak up all the water and some (mostly faster cooking beans) need less. Conclusion: it’s not good to use one rule for every type of bean - it’s trial & error. Mind you my experience is slow, stovetop cooking, not pressure cooking or instapot which probably yield more consistent results.
I made the Alubia Blancas for the first time, which caused me to reach this conclusion and I’ll expound on this when I post the results soon, including thoughts on salt-brining.
Btw, your beans look great.
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This is all fascinating, thanks for putting in the work and attention to detail. I’m excited to read about your results!
Also, thanks for the compliment regarding the beans! The photos are a kind of a lot- I’m incorporating them into a larger project which is why they’re so heavily edited. Also, all the questions are because some of my unchallenged assumptions about beans clearly require further scrutiny so this discussion is much appreciated.
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Thanks @WireMonkey.
All these awesome RG varietals are opening up a new world of one size doesn’t fit all. Before I started buying from them I cooked the basics - Black Beans, Pinto Beans & Blackeyed Peas from scratch and just opened a can of Kidney Beans to throw in Chili and cans of White Beans (cannellini, great northern) and Chickpeas for salads or dips. I’ll probably even try making Baked Beans from scratch now instead of doctoring up cans of Bush’s & B&M. TBC…
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Now that’s a fascinating bean recipe! I used Alton Brown’s recipe for a long time (although it is a bit heavy on the bacon).
I love the science behind why molasses helps contribute to the cook time and final texture of the beans as in the below quote (citing Harold McGee) from Serious Eats:
The thing with molasses, though, is that it significantly slows down the rate at which beans soften during cooking. First, the slightly acidic pH of molasses, according to Harold McGee, makes the pectins and hemicellulose in the beans’ cell walls more stable and less prone to dissolving; second, the sugar in the molasses strengthens the beans’ cell walls and slows down the rate at which their starch absorbs water; and, finally, the calcium in molasses steps in to further strengthen the beans’ cell walls.
I moved on to another recipe although I can’t recall what it is now- probably America’s Test Kitchen. That was the recipe that made me seek out salt pork (which I confirmed for myself Smart & Final doesn’t seem to carry in my neck of the woods). If you can find it, I think I prefer the salt pork to bacon in this case.
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I use brown sugar and will now make use of that jar of molasses sitting in the back of the cupboard.
I believe commercial brown sugar already contains some molasses but I have no idea if it’s in high enough concentrations to have the same results. Interested to find out if your recipe turns out any differently!
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It will be totally different no matter what I use because the beans won’t be from a can. 
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Alubia Blanca Beans w/Anchovy, Sundried Tomato, Caper, Lemon Sauce & Baked Lemon Chicken Thighs
Simmered in Water & Low-Sodium Chicken Broth, Olive Oil, Garlic, Shallots, Celery, Poultry Seasoning, White Pepper, Sprig Thyme, Bay Leaf.
Anchovy, Caper, Sundried Tomato, Lemon Sauce
Sautéed Minced Anchovies, Sundried Tomatoes in Oil, Garlic, Capers, Simmered in Lemon Juice, Alubia Bean Broth, Mint, Parsley & Ground Turmeric.
Soup, Swirl of Olive Oil & Grated Robusto Cheese
Bean Preparation: Hard boiled for 10 minutes and soaked for an hour. Cooked the usual method - covered and low & slow on stovetop, 45-60 mins.
Thoughts & Results: This bean probably needs no soaking, cooks extremely fast and must be checked frequently to prevent boiling. I will also note, if you choose to soak, this bean might benefit from @WireMonkey’s method of salt brining to prevent the skins from splitting during the cook. I had to abort my mission early because they did boil a bit and the skins split before they were fully cooked & creamy. Next day’s soup was much better. All-in-all it was a delicious dish, but I would make changes to the cooking method next time.
Side note: imo they cook too fast to be used in Cassoulet.
P.S. @js76wisco & @Emglow101 I looked at a couple of recipes as guidelines, but definitely just did a little of this and a little of that. 
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I’m so glad to know all this before getting anything from Rancho Gordo. I’m sure they taste delicious regardless, it’s great to hear about some of fine differences!
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I was not stockpiling in case of a quarantine.
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Awesome!
Thinking on pressure cookers, Tim Chin wrote a pretty thorough article on them for Serious Eats. Not groundbreaking stuff but good to have all in one place, particularly details like the difference in pressure between Instant Pots (12PSI) and more traditional pressure cookers (15PSI). I heard a year or so back that Instant Pot was creating a version that went up to 15PSI but it was just on a podcast I can’t find now.
(Since Instant Pot is a brand name is “Instant Pots” the proper plural? “Instants Pot”? Or just “Instant Pot” like Lego?)
One new thing I learned was that the pressure rating is above atmospheric pressure so if you’re cooking at high altitude you are still cooking at lower pressure even in a pressure cooker. I really assumed that wasn’t true so that’s good to know.
Really enjoying this Tim Chin guy.
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If you feel like braving the stores and all the folks stocking up for the apocalypse. I found this at Whole Foods.
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Damn it @TheCookie. Where were you last week? I bought the Hormel brand and I didn’t think it added much. A lot of fat.
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I know!
I feel like we were ahead of this trend. Well I might have just recently jumped on the bandwagon but you know what I mean.
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We’re trendsetters. 
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