Old-Fashioned Bean Pot Baked Beans

Submitted by PainterCook

"This recipe is a good excuse to go antique shopping for an oven-proof, lidded bean crock. You can also use a lidded Dutch Oven. Fabulous beans--a real crowd pleaser."

 

• Ready In: 6hrs
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 lb dried navy beans
• 1⁄2 cup chopped onion, plus
• 1 small onion, whole, peeled
• 1⁄2 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1⁄2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1⁄2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 lb salt pork, slices

directions

1. Rinse beans and pick them over. Put beans in a large plastic container with three times as much water as beans. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain beans. Combine beans and chopped onion in a large saucepan. Add water to cover them and heat to boiling. Cover and let simmer about 30 minutes. Drain liquid into a small bowl to reserve for sauce and for cooking.
3. Measure 1/2 cup of the bean liquid into a bowl. Add the orange juice, molasses, maple syrup, ketchup, and prepared mustard. Then add the brown sugar, stirring to dissolve. Lastly, add the dry mustard and salt and combine.
4. In a 2-quart bean crock or covered baking dish layer half the salt pork and all of the beans, making sure to bury the peeled, whole onion in the bottom. Pour the sauce mixture over beans and add just enough reserved bean liquid to cover them. Top with remaining salt pork.
5. Bake, covered, at 300 degrees for 4 hours, checking on the hour. If beans seem too dry, add a little of the remaining bean liquid. Uncover and then bake for one hour more.

Reviews

[Melanie B.]

Great recipe! My father and I have both made it (me once, him a handful of times) and we both really enjoyed. The only thing that I would do differently is next time I would leave out the maple syrup, like someone else said it is just a bit pricey and I want to make these to save some money. The only thing I changed with my recipe is that I used bacon instead of salt pork, it melted away beautifully. I also cooked mine at a lower temp for longer, because I knew I would be out of the house for a while and I didnt want anyone else to have to mess with it.

 

[Chef Tweaker]

This has become my "go-to" recipe. I have made it twice so far with good results. I have made a few modifications due to taste and cost. I've used bacon both times in place of the salt pork (not as available) and I think it was actually an improvement. Part of my goal for making from scratch was to reduce cost so 2nd time around used only brown sugar in place of the maple syrup. I couldn't tell the difference.

 

[KateL]

3 Stars, beans not fully cooked, yet bacon was black. For the top, I would be better off cooking the bacon separately until cooked but not crisp, and adding it to the beans in the last 15 minutes. The sauce was very tasty, not too sweet. Used a 2-qt Anchor Hocking covered glass casserole dish. DH strongly prefers Recipe #252226 #252226, but that one has too much bacon and sugar for me. For the time commitment, I did not get the payoff I desired; maybe I am better off using canned beans. I cannot guarantee that my oven temperature is properly calibrated. Still looking for the perfect baked beans that both DH and I adore. Made for Fall 2008 Pick-a-Chef.

 

[Sydney Mike]

Very nice recipe & a great tasting bean dish! I'm not one to do my beans from scratch because of the time involved, but did this time around & was very pleased with the results! I did, however, leave out the pork! I like the combo of molasses & OJ in beans! [Tagged, made & reviewed for one of my teammates in AUS/NZ Recipe Swap, Mar 08]