Red bean poisoning & slow cookers?

[t2009]

Hi all,

I just got a slow cooker & was super excited to try a recipe for red beans & andouille sausage.

I soaked the beans last night & this morning I put everything in the slow cooker. I looked at the instruction manual for how to set the thing & then flipped through the "tips." I notice something about boiling red beans before cooking them in the slow cooker!

I didn't have time at that point, so I just turned the thing on low & set the cooking time.

Well, I did some poking around on-line & found this! Apparently there is a toxin in many beans but particularly in red beans -- eating them raw or (worse!) cooked at a low temperature can make you really sick. The article I found suggests that there haven't been outbreaks in the US so I'm not sure what to do now!

Has anyone had experience with getting sick from slow-cooked red beans or (to the contrary) has anyone NOT boiled their red beans & not gotten sick?

Thanks! I really hope we can eat our first slow-cooked dinner tonight but I don't want to risk making the whole family ill!!

[pek64]

I have no idea if the beans are safe.

I wonder if you could pour from the crockpot into a pot and cook on the stove for 10minutes at the end instead of the beginning.

[t2009]

Good thought. I'm going to see how hot it all is when I get home & if it's not at least 200 degrees I'm going to do this. Thank you! What a strange thing -- I've never heard of it before today!

[tonttu]

I think , once they are cooked all the way , it probably doesn´t matter , if they have been slow-cooked or not . Other than that , I´d go with the advice above , if it makes you feel better

[gonyere]

I cook beans in my crockpot all the time without boiling them first (sort. rinse. dump in crockpot. fill with water. add an onion halved. turn on. wait 4-8 hrs) I've never heard this and certainly never had a problem. Mostly I do pinto & black beans fwiw.

[t2009]

Thanks, all. So before I left work I asked DH to check on dinner & check the temp. The slow cooker had already gone to warm so it was only at 165 degrees. DH tasted a bean & they were already super soft & he thought cooking them again (on stove or in the slow cooker on high) would ruin the dish... So we just ate the dish as it was. And no one got sick! And it was yummy! I'll never buy canned beans again no I have my slow cooker!!

[pek64]

Glad to hear they were fine!! What a relief!