Kitchen

[Jhincher]

I keep all of my dried beans in the freezer and never have had a problem. I do soak limas and pintos overnight and cook them at a simmer on the stove top.

[depglass]

Maybe this is too obvious, but did you use salt and pepper?  I think overnight soaking or pre-boiling would have solved your problem.  I once had a friend years ago who was a bean farmer, great northerns.  I had pounds and pounds of beans sitting around for years.  Each year they got a little harder to cook.  After five years I threw them out.  Beans are cheap, no use trying to save money on them. 

[RedTop]

Beans absolutely get old.   My first clue to old beans is in the color and texture of the bean soup, which never cooks to the level I'm looking for when the beans don't break down and release their starch.   

[sunshine45]

can you  remove the turkey and make some pulled turkey with bbq sauce? great for sandwiches!

[Mmsfoxxie]

@depglass, they certainly are cheap but actually, I hadn't planned on cooking lima beans.  My intent was to cook black eyed peas..thought I had some but I didn't and didn't want to go to a crowded grocery store on New Year's Eve.  I found a bag of lima beans in the corner of the cupboard.  My southern family always had black eyed peas on the first day of the year but since we'd be out that day, I cooked the day before.  Thus the beginning of our bad meal.