My mother (and I) always used Navy beans.

Do you soak your beans in water overnight before cooking? You're not using canned beans, are you?

Are you referring to bean soup? If so, I always use Great Northern, but you could use any kind of bean I suppose.

Maybe pintos break down easier than other beans and that's why they are used for refried beans. Are you possibly overcooking them?

What actually are you wanting to make?

Any kind of bean can be cooked with ham. I do navy, butter bean, red beans, love love love anasazi beans and ham, black beans, pinto, northern. I doubt there is a dry bean that I have not cooked with ham LOL. but by far my most fave is the anasazi bean.

I always soak dry beans over night and pour out that water and start fresh. I like to add a can of rotel tomatoes original to mine to kick them up a little, chopped onion, garlic, seasonings, I sometimes add a couple of bullion cubes. Cover and let the crock pot cook all day, then when they get soft I smash up a bunch of them and put back in to give it the creamy texture, I do not like watery/soupy beans. I like a lot of ham in mine I sometimes supplement with some smoked sausage cut up in bite size rounds.

It sounds like if your pintos are looking like refried you are cooking too long and maybe letting too much liquid evaporate.

if I don't cook them that long they are still hard. No I don't want to make soup. I do make soup, but on here I see sometimes that people make beans with ham I want it thicker than soup. I have cooked the pinto beans for refried and yes I did soak them overnight but they still turn to mush before they aren't hard anymore. I just want to know what beans you usually use. NO I'm not using canned beans.

I cook red beans like Raven Cajun...except I cook them in broth...beef or chicken..and I add cumin to them. I had sausage when they are almost done, so the sausage doesn't cook so long that they shrivel up. When they are done, I add some chopped cilantro and serve over rice. The next day I mash some up and make tostados with them or crisp corn tortillas, which shredded lettuce, onion and tomatoes and cheese.

I cook navy or butter beans with ham usually. I add a chopped onion and cook in broth. I started using broth because I don't care to drink the water from the well here...until we get a new well. I like using broth...and will keep on doing it, even after we get the new well.

I don't cook with a crock pot....so all I can think of bengardening, is you need to find a happy medium in your cooking time. Cook them slow but keep an eye on them.

Thank you all. For being a cook in a restaurant this may have been a stupid question. I am from the Dakotas and my mother never cooked this and I asked my DH and neither did his mother. In fact my daughter just told me her MIL did and that was the first time she had ever heard of it. She was from the south though. We are going out to Holland MI next week and I will have her cook some while I am out there.

My mother used navy beans with ham. Nothing special about cooking, except I recall that it took a long time on the top of a wood burning cookstove. Sometimes, she soaked the beans overnight to shorten cook time. As I recall, she put everything in the pot at the same time, covered with water, added some salt, and brought it to a boil, then allowed to low simmer until the beans softened. Occassionally stir and add water as needed. Covering the pot reduces water loss. The steam condenses on the lid and drips back into the pot. If you have 'hard' water, reducing water loss is good because as you boil away mineralized water, mineral residue increases and can affect taste.

Cooking times vary depending on atmospheric pressure. Beans cook a litttle faster on high pressure days. (pressue affects the boiling point of water.)
At low altitude, cook times varied from 2.5 to 4 hours. After the beans soften, lower the temperature and keep the pot warm for serving. Let cool for storage. The mix can be reheated again, and some say its better on the second heating.

Other vegtables can be diced and tossed into the pot. Popular veggies are carrots, celery, corn, onions, and a pinch of garlic. Potatoes go well with this meal, but I recommend preparing potatoes separately.

Serve with shakers of salt and black pepper.

Cooking time can be shortened by using a pressure cooker and is recommended for altitudes above 3000 ft.