Beans-in-a-hole

Saturday my wife and oldest son dug a hole in our fire pit, lined the bottom with rocks, and burned down some wood to make coals for this beans-in-a-hole cooking adventure that he learned about in history. This consists of using some type of dried beans (I think they used navy beans) along with bacon and whatever other seasonings you want. You then place this all in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Next you remove a goodly amount of the coals, set the pot in the hole, and put coals around it. It says to use moistened burlap over this and then coals and dirt, but we didn't have the burlap so that part didn't get done. It says that this usually takes 16 hrs or so to cook, but by Sunday morning these beans where little orbs of charcoal! I'm guessing, of course, that heat was the main culprit but was wondering if anyone has ever done this and if there's a specific amount of beans to water ratio we should've followed. The recipe that we had didn't have any measurements of any kind, so my wife just went off of what she would usually do when cooking beans on the stove. We want to try it again and are looking for any guidance with this.
Thanks a lot.

From the title, I thought this was going to be like toad-in-a-hole.

Once upon a time in another life, dear hubby and I were really into dutch oven cooking.  And cooking over coals in a hole.  Baking potatoes wrapped in foil were once a favorite.

Here is a thread to give you some recipes for using that dutch oven in a hole:

https://permies.com/t/58613/kitchen/favorite-dutch-oven-recipes

Usually it's 1 part beans to 3 parts water so maybe add another cup water for steam?

Aurora House wrote:Usually it's 1 part beans to 3 parts water so maybe add another cup water for steam?

I will definitely ask dw what her ratio was. I'm betting that will help out tremendously. Thank you!

Did they start with dry beans, or did they use soaked beans?

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Did they start with dry beans, or did they use soaked beans?

They where dry. Would that make a difference?

I think yes. Durring the soak, the dry beans absorb a significant amount of water. So, starting dry, more water would be needed. I always soak, so I don't know how much more.

I was just going to ask the same question as Joylynn.  Yes, the beans would need to be soaked overnight.  

I am sorry when I read your post that I missed this "these beans where little orbs of charcoal!"

This recipe from Food Network is for something like what we call Baked beans.  It suggests soaking navy beans overnight:

Add enough water to cover the beans and give it a good stir. Put the lid on and wrap the edge of the lid with aluminum foil to prevent dirt and ashes from getting into the pot. Place the pot in the hole. Shovel some of the embers and ashes on top of the pot and cover it with dirt. Cook for 6 to 8 hours. Dig up the pot, brush off the dirt and ashes, and remove the lid.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bean-hole-stew-recipe-1945410

This leads me to believe that not soaking plus cooking too long might have been the problem.

Anne Miller wrote:I was just going to ask the same question as Joylynn.  Yes, the beans would need to be soaked overnight.  

I am sorry when I read your post that I missed this "these beans where little orbs of charcoal!"

This recipe from Food Network is for something like what we call Baked beans.  It suggests soaking navy beans overnight:

Add enough water to cover the beans and give it a good stir. Put the lid on and wrap the edge of the lid with aluminum foil to prevent dirt and ashes from getting into the pot. Place the pot in the hole. Shovel some of the embers and ashes on top of the pot and cover it with dirt. Cook for 6 to 8 hours. Dig up the pot, brush off the dirt and ashes, and remove the lid.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bean-hole-stew-recipe-1945410

This leads me to believe that not soaking plus cooking too long might have been the problem.

Very good! We'll be giving this another try and I'll report back how it went.

You may also be interested in haybox or thermal box cooking. Some links are defunct in that thread, but lots of usable content.

I did this once, with soaked beans. I just used my regular baked beans recipe, no additional water. It turned out wonderfully, and I was so proud to have done it, but my Dutch oven has never looked the same since. I think that whole experience was pretty hard on it!