AuntieM: you may absolutely substitute canned beans. As Nancy pointed out, you will want to reduce the water by half to start, and then check on it periodically after you add the grains to make sure they aren’t getting too dry. Add the drained beans about 15 minutes before you might guess the grains will be cooked through. This recipe is hard to overcook! Definitely use unsalted beans if possible, otherwise reduce the salt and season before serving to taste.
With other similar recipes, I've used canned (cooked) beans instead of dried. To adjust for this change 1) reduce the water by about half 2) cook until the meat is done. Test the meat at about one hour (temperature or taste), add more liquid if needed, cook a few minutes more if needed. By then everything, including the buckwheat, should be cooked through. 3) maybe also reduce added salt, as the canned beans will already have some.
Some further thoughts on how long to cook the meat. Definitely less than the 5 hours in original (that is influenced by the need to cook the beans thoroughly from scratch), but maybe more than the 1 hour or so I estimated at first. You want the ribs to be tender, but the other ingredients not to be overdone.
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To adjust for this change
1) reduce the water by about half
2) cook until the meat is done. Test the meat at about one hour (temperature or taste), add more liquid if needed, cook a few minutes more if needed. By then everything, including the buckwheat, should be cooked through.
3) maybe also reduce added salt, as the canned beans will already have some.