Making a pot of pinto beans without bacon-help

[irisblue]

I want to find a substitute for bacon in my crockpot pinto beans. My usual go to is pintos, garlic, commercial salsa and 2 strips of bacon.
Turkey bacon does not work
Some liquid smoke? Liquid smoke **and**smokey paprika?
Help?

[CrispyQ]

1. I hate liquid smoke.

I ruined an entire batch of split pea soup by adding LS before tasting it. I would add a tiny bit to a bowl & see if you like it first.

Hot smoked paprika - yum! Definitely add this.

[hlthe2b]

2. Ditto. There is a commercial fried rice product that supposedly includes bacon (why, I don't know)

along with some chicken, but I think it smells and tastes like old ("off" ) hotdogs, so it must just be smoky flavoring. I found it inedible and threw it out.

I've found that to be the case with other products that include artificial bacon or smoke flavors.

The paprika seems like a good thing to try.

[CrispyQ]

4. I had never used paprika before.

Then I read that smoked paprika is so much more flavorful than regular. And someone on DU recommended this brand.

https://www.amazon.com/Dalia-Pimenton-Picante-Smoked-Paprika/dp/B004WOMFTY/ref=asc_df_B004WOMFTY/

There are smoked versions of both sweet & hot paprika. I've only had the hot.

[The Magistrate]

3. Luscious Fat Is Part Of What Bacon Adds, Ma'am

I would recommend an extra bit of oil in the pot, along with whatever smokey taste concoction you employ.

[comradebillyboy]

5. A nice meaty ham hock helps any pot of beans. nt

[Tetrachloride]

6. 1. Kafta sausages 2. Taiwan sweet sausage

3. Brandon Meats pepper bacon. my family’s butcher in Brandon, Wisconsin

Kafta spices from Penzey’s or other import places

[brewens]

7. You need a ham and some navy beans. :) n/t

[Kali]

8. chipotle

or smoked paprika. liquid is pretty potent, be careful if you try that. saute some onions in a little oil/fat of some kind too.

[ratchiweenie]

9. Onions fried in olive oil until almost black and chicken stock instead of water. Paprika is good too

[The Polack MSgt]

10. I was coming here for the onion tip, it's a good trick for soups and stews that just need oomph

If the impetus for getting rid of bacon is to make the dish vegetarian/vegan, I recommend using peanut oil.

Maybe it's my imagination but I think peanut oil gives a better mouthfeel than olive or corn oils and is a pretty neutral tasting fat

I also co-sign the smoked paprika rather than the liquid smoke. My preference is Hungarian for sweet and Spanish for hot.

If you're just over bacon but meat is still ok, find some smoked turkey tails.

One of those adds smoke, some fat and a bunch of gelatin which really helps mouthfeel - My wife uses these in every recipe in which she used to use hocks - Such as greens and white beans.

Another plus of cooking with with turkey butts is that they don't have that barnyard funk that hocks and knuckles have

[ratchiweenie]

17. I don't like liquid smoke. My ex-husbands family is Burmese and their trick is dicing the onion very

fine and cooking them until they are almost burnt. Adds a lovely smokey flavor to beans, lentils (dahl), any vegetarian dish. Smokey paprika does as well so the two together really spice up the pot. They use whatever oil. Often peanut oil because you can get it so hot. I add a dash of sesame oil at the end to mine because I add a dash of sesame oil to almost everything.

[Nanuke]

11. Smoked paprika

I make vegetarian pinto beans all the time. I use Penny’s smoked paprika and small (1 tsp) of dried onion soup mix. I also ad 1-2 Tsp butter and a pinch of brown sugar or 1/2 tsp molasses.

I have tried liquid smoke and did not like it.

[Nanuke]

12. PENZY'S smoked paprika

[AndyS]

13. For added smoke flavor I use

Hoosier Hill hickory smoke powder. 8 oz is about $15 and will last a lifetime. A word of caution, DO NOT open the container and stick your nose in for a sniff. You won't smell anything else all day. To test the aroma open the container, wave your hand over it to bring the scent to you.

[msongs]

14. sesame oil gives a smoky sort of flavor and is also good in spaghetti sauce nt

[Retrograde]

15. Why no bacon?

Are you looking for a vegetarian version, or a less fatty version?

If you just want something different, try adding a ham bone in place of bacon: similar flavor, less fat. The hard part is finding a decent ham bone, other than buying a whole ham, which can be a problem for a small household. Chunks of ham will also work for your beans, as do bones from left-over ribs (cut the meat off or not as you want). A sausage or three would also be good (and if you add greens you're well on your way to a traditional Portuguese beans and greens soup).

Liquid smoke - a little goes a very long way! My own go-to for pintos is beans, onion, bay leaf, and maybe a chipotle for a little smokieness. I tend to make a large pot, then use the beans for other things later, so I don't want to put too much of a dominant flavor in at the beginning.

[Lars39]

16. Bacon salt!

I bought it as a joke, but it really does add the taste of bacon.

[Marthe48]

18. I made Great Northern beans today

Working on lowering my cholesterol, thought beans would be good to eat.

I put a tablesoon of real butter in about 1 cup of dried beans. I added chopped onion, minced garlic, s&p. When they were about 30 minutes from being done, I added about 2/3 cups of frozen mixed veggies, and some spices I use in just about every meal I make (Badia Complete, paprika, and turmeric) I really liked how they turned out.

i don't know if you found a sub for bacon, but maybe you'd like the flavor of the beans on their own?

[trof]

19. spam

[Ilsa]

20. You might add a few tablespoons of sofrito

or fire-roasted tomatoes or something like to add more depth.