I also forgot to add that I have a pressure canner and I processed my dilly beans at 10lbs for 20 minutes which I guess isn't right either? I was re-reading dilly bean recipes and all of them are for the water bath canning method?

I think maybe you are talking about 2 different things - (1) canned green beans with water and a clove garlic added vs. (2) pickled green beans(Dilly Beans) with garlic which are done in a vinegar brine. Two different processes: canning vs. pickling. It sounds like the guy at work is talking about canning his beans but Dilled beans is a pickle.

Canned green beans are packed in water (a clove of garlic could be added to each jar) and processed in a pressure canner ONLY for 20-25 mins. at the pressure required for your altitude. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_snap_italian.html

Dilly Beans (pickled beans) are packed in jars with a clove of garlic and a brine made of equal parts of vinegar and water and processed in a BWB canner for 5 mins.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/dilled_beans.html

Does that help clarify?

Dave

I ended up making the brine and processed the jars though my pressure cooker. Will they be alright or should I toss them?

They will be safe to eat but much softer since they were pressure canned so you may not like the texture.

Dave

Thanks for all the replies but I have one last question. How will dilly beans store? Last year was my first year pressure canning and I've never done the hot water bath method before.

Assuming you used a tested and approved brine with no less than 50% vinegar they should store fine for years. However they will continue to soften over time on the shelf so since they were pressure canned I'd plan to consume them within about 6 mo. time for at least some quality.

Was it clear above about canning them vs. pickling them? If your friend is only using water and no vinegar then he is not making dilly beans. Whether his method is safe or not I can't say as we don't know how long he processed them.

There are many foods that won't hold up to pressure canning, anything pickled is one of them, so check out all the info on BWB canning at the NCHFP links above.

Dave