Baked Beans
Baked beans are a New England staple. Though they originated with the Native Americans, they were popularized by the people of Boston during the rum making years. Where Native Americans used bear fat and maple syrup, Bostonians (and later, most New Englanders) switched to the widely available salt pork and molasses. Even today, the nickname for Boston is "Beantown".
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Ingredients:
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Dried beans should be soaked for at least 12 hours before cooking. Set them in your cooking pot the night before you want to cook them and cover them completely with water. Remember that the beans will swell to twice their size by morning, so be sure to add enough water to keep them submerged.
In the morning, drain and thoroughly rinse the beans. Put them into a large pot (or two, if necessary) and add enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a rapid bowl, then turn down the heat a bit and let them boil gently. The beans are ready when you can pull out a spoonful of them and blow on them, and the skins split.
While the beans are boiling, prepare your cooking pot. In a slow cooker or crock pot, add your margarine, salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, and enough hot water to make it mix together. Turn on the crock pot to high, or your stove top to a medium high heat (and pre-heat your oven to 350F). When the sugar is mostly dissolved, add the onion.
Drain and rinse the parboiled beans again with cold water. The beans need to be quickly cooled down to stop the cooking process. When all the beans are cool to the touch, pour them into the cooker with the molasses mixture. Add enough water to just barely completely cover the beans. In a crock pot, cook on high for four to six hours, or on low for six to eight hours. In the oven, cook at 350F for about four to six hours. Check the beans frequently, and add salt and pepper to taste. Try to avoid stirring the beans too much, as it will cause them to become mushy.
During the cooking process you may need to add more water. Until the last hour or so, the beans should look very watery, with floating pools of brown liquid at the top. The beans should move freely when stirred. Add water as necessary to keep them this way.
In the morning, drain and thoroughly rinse the beans. Put them into a large pot (or two, if necessary) and add enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a rapid bowl, then turn down the heat a bit and let them boil gently. The beans are ready when you can pull out a spoonful of them and blow on them, and the skins split.
While the beans are boiling, prepare your cooking pot. In a slow cooker or crock pot, add your margarine, salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, and enough hot water to make it mix together. Turn on the crock pot to high, or your stove top to a medium high heat (and pre-heat your oven to 350F). When the sugar is mostly dissolved, add the onion.
Drain and rinse the parboiled beans again with cold water. The beans need to be quickly cooled down to stop the cooking process. When all the beans are cool to the touch, pour them into the cooker with the molasses mixture. Add enough water to just barely completely cover the beans. In a crock pot, cook on high for four to six hours, or on low for six to eight hours. In the oven, cook at 350F for about four to six hours. Check the beans frequently, and add salt and pepper to taste. Try to avoid stirring the beans too much, as it will cause them to become mushy.
During the cooking process you may need to add more water. Until the last hour or so, the beans should look very watery, with floating pools of brown liquid at the top. The beans should move freely when stirred. Add water as necessary to keep them this way.
Notes:
Making your own baked beans is a real treat, but does take a bit of work. If you have access to a slow cooker or crock pot, you will have an easy time of it, but even on a stove or in an oven, they're not too difficult.
Baked beans can be made from any dried bean, but the most popular are navy beans, red kidney beans, and "little white" beans. However, you can use black beans, great northern beans, or any other you prefer. Just remember to soak them!
Baked beans can be served with hot dogs or on their own with a crusty bread. They can be frozen for later use. Baked beans can also be pressure canned and stored for use over the winter. It's just as easy to make a very large batch and preserve the extras, as it is to make a small batch, so consider making a lot when you cook them.
This recipe is sized for a family size crock pot (7 to 8 quart), but it can be halved for a smaller batch, or doubled to be cooked in a Westinghouse roaster if you're lucky enough to own one. You can get away with one package of salt pork in a roaster, but more is always better when it comes to beans!
Making your own baked beans is a real treat, but does take a bit of work. If you have access to a slow cooker or crock pot, you will have an easy time of it, but even on a stove or in an oven, they're not too difficult.
Baked beans can be made from any dried bean, but the most popular are navy beans, red kidney beans, and "little white" beans. However, you can use black beans, great northern beans, or any other you prefer. Just remember to soak them!
Baked beans can be served with hot dogs or on their own with a crusty bread. They can be frozen for later use. Baked beans can also be pressure canned and stored for use over the winter. It's just as easy to make a very large batch and preserve the extras, as it is to make a small batch, so consider making a lot when you cook them.
This recipe is sized for a family size crock pot (7 to 8 quart), but it can be halved for a smaller batch, or doubled to be cooked in a Westinghouse roaster if you're lucky enough to own one. You can get away with one package of salt pork in a roaster, but more is always better when it comes to beans!