bbq: I want to make bbq beans in a crockpot but do not want to use canned beans. Can someone tell me how to do it using dried beans?|||I make my baked beans from dried beans, and they are better. You'll need to rinse the dried beans with clear water and then sort through them to pick out the 'bad' ones. (There are some which will have turned black, have spots on them, or you'll even find some tiny stones sometimes...they are picked by machine, after all). Then place the beans in a large bowl and cover them by at least 2 inches with clean water. Let them soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Then drain the water out and the beans are now ready to cook. The thing is, they'll need to cook in water before they're made into baked beans. You can do this in the crock pot, too. Just put the soaked beans, a chopped onion, salt and pepper, and about 3/4 cup ham chunks into the crock pot and cover with water. Cook on high for 8 hours or low for 4 hours. Then the beans are ready to be made into baked beans. It's a long process, but oh....it's worth it. Do you need a recipe for crock pot baked beans? If so, I'll be more than happy to share mine with you. Here goes: 1/2 bag navy or northern beans, soaked and cooked as above - including the ham and onion bits from the cooking process...drained of all but 1/4 cup liquid 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup vinegar (any kind will do, except balsamic) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (this is a small bottled ingredient you can buy in the ketchup/vinegar/mustard area of the market....an absolute MUST for BBQ dishes) 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder Mix all ingredients listed in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. Stir frequently to prevent the bottom from sticking.|||It's real simple, I generally cut up some onion and bell pepper for flavoring of the beans. First wash your dried beans thoroughly. Then place them into the pot. Fill with water not all the way to the top but 1/4 of the way. Put in the onion and bell pepper, salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, or whatever seasonings that you like. I would put about 2 tablespoons each. Let the beans cook all day. I typically put the beans on the night before I plan to eat them right before I go to bed and let them cook all night. Put the crock pot on low temp. You will wake up smelling the beans. Be careful though using this method because as the beans cook, the water will be reduced significantly so you may need to add a little more water as you go. To test the beans, simply taste them to get the desired flavor and also to check for doneness. When the beans are soft they are done. At that time you can add your bbq sauce and let them simmer on low to cook in the sauce for about 30 minutes. That's the most basic recipe I can think of. Note you can add meat to the beans as well such as ground meat, bacon, ham, turkey, sausage, ham hocks or whatever just to take it to another level. I hope this helps.|||Here is a great recipe for bakes beans hope you enjoy.