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Cool weather is approaching, at least I hope so, and baked beans are a favorite cool weather comfort food for my family. I've made a few attempts at making baked beans from starting with dry beans but I usually go back to starting with those in a can. How many have found a method and a variety of bean that works for them? I know there must be a way. Those canned bean folks can't have all the secrets. Can they?
Well, NO but I do have trick to make the canned ones taste more like homemade in a pinch... add BBQ Sauce to them and bake away with some bacon on top... I do that with brown sugar baked beans and they come out so yummy....you can even sprinkle the top with a tad of brown sugar to candy the bacon a bit... Oh MY Gravy!
Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
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Me, me...I do, I do!
I used to use the pea beans (I think they're also called navy), but I've gone on to the next bigger size, the northern or great northern beans (I think that's their name). Here's the way I used to make them before I heard that nasty word "Cholesterol":
1 lb. dried beans
1 med. onion, diced
1 lb. bacon
1/2 cup bacon grease
salt & pepper
water
I use the quick soak method on the bag. First, go thru the beans and throw out any that look nasty. Sometimes you can find stones in them. Then, cover the beans w/about twice as much water as beans. Bring to a boil, let boil for 2 minutes. Take off heat, let sit for one hour. Drain and rinse.
Put beans in pot, cover w/ enough water to give it about 1/2 inch over the beans (sorry - I'm a guess 'n by gosh cook). Add onion, bacon, bring to boil. Let simmer for about 2, 2-1/2 hours, till beans are tender and "gravy" is a bit thick. Add the bacon grease. S&P to taste. Here, I would sometimes add brown sugar and maple syrup, just enough to give it a bit of a sweet taste. My former FIL didn't like them sweet, so I always made a special dish for him w/o the sugar and syrup. Maple syrup is not necessary. We just like it. raw bacon on top, bake at 350 for 45 min - 1 hour, till nice and bubbly.
Now that we're more conscious about what we eat, I use a ham slice or a leftover ham bone from a baked ham instead of the bacon. The hambone gives more flavor than the ham slice. After the beans are done, I take the bone out, shred the meat and put it back in. I don't add the bacon grease at the end, but everything else is the same. It's still a good baked bean.
I hope you try it and enjoy it. I just made some this weekend, as a matter of fact. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.
Guess I had better start saving some bacon drippings. That means some extra tomatoes for BLT's. That's a win win for me. As for healthy. My dear grandmother had her bacon more years than I need to I'm for it. I love a big chunk of ham in great northerns baked up too. Beans make the ham better for me. Thanks for the method. I'll try it soon as I collect the needed bacon part. I may experiment some by using smart balance with bacon grease.
Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
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I didn't always use the extra grease, because I found that the lb. of bacon was sufficient. If you do use the bacon method, you will have yourself one wonderful pan of baked beans. And I just LOVE cold baked bean sandwiches.
I didn't always use the extra grease, because I found that the lb. of bacon was sufficient. If you do use the bacon method, you will have yourself one wonderful pan of baked beans. And I just LOVE cold baked bean sandwiches.
Me too. I can pack the beans in a container and make the sandwich as needed. That way the bread didn't get soggy. I'm sitting here stuffed and now want another sandwich with baked beans and ketchup??
Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
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Nomad, DH is a ketchup on his beans kinda guy. We've been married 13 years and I still can't remember that when I set the table!
Cuisinette, I've never tried that. Sounds good, tho. Now, if you had my mother's baked beans, they almost qualify for dessert, they're so sweet. Me, I just put enough in to let you know they're there.
Oh, and if you put enough water in, you can eat the beans as soup instead of baking them. They're also good that way. Without the sugar and syrup, tho.
Every Saturday when I was a kid in MA, everyone's mother made baked beans. The aroma wafted from everyone's house. Franks and beans for supper, then we had leftover beans with bacon and eggs for breakfast on Sunday morning.
Anyway, it was always navy beans, molasses, brown sugar, salt pork, dry mustard, one whole onion, and water. When I've tried to make them, I've found the secret is low and slow, and watch that they don't get too dry.
The first two recipes are from my father's mother- his parents were married in 1914, so they are almost at least 100 years old. I do not know if they were handed down from her mother.
Grandma's Baked Beans
Wash and sort a package of Great Northern dried beans. Place in stock pot or Dutch oven, cover with water and soak over night. Drain water and rinse until water is clear. Layer beans into crock, alternating with chopped onion and chunks of meat- we usually use a pork loin or roast, even thick chops will work. Season well with pepper, pinch of salt and brown sugar. Add enough water to cover beans. Cook slowly in a bean crock to allow the beans to absorb the liquid. I always start with the lid on, depending on things like how old the beans are, the humidity, etc., the rate at which the water is absorbed depends on the day. If it seems like the water is not absorbing quickly enough you may need to remove the lid at some point. The end result is very dry, almost like Boston Baked Beans.
Since there is no sauce, either tomato or molasses based, my grandmother would make catsup from her Concord grapes, by cooking the grapes with sugar, vinegar, and cloves on cinnamon. I will admit, to the uninitated eye, it does look odd having purple catsup on your beans, but everyone who has married into the family is hooked after one bite. Grandma canned her grape catsup; when we lived in the South and my mother didn't have a reliable source for Concord grapes, she developed this as a tasty substitute.
Grape Catsup
Start with a can of inexpensive frozen grape juice concentrate. The less expensive brands have more pulp in them. All the remaining ingredients are approximate and can be adjusted to taste.
1/4 C vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
1/8 t cloves
Bring to boil in saucepan to dissolve sugar, then simmer until mixture is reduced and slightly thickened. Serve over the top of baked beans.
Hoosier Cole Slaw In large bowl, combine:
1 qt cabbage, shredded
½ pimento or 1 oz canned
½ C diced green pepper
Soak in brine made at following ratio to cover mixture:
2 t salt to 1 C water
Let stand 1 hour, drain. Add :
2 stalks finely diced celery
Set aside. In sauce pan combine:
1C sugar
½ C water
½ C vinegar
1 T mustard seed
Boil 2-3 minutes, cool. Pour over cabbage mixture. Cover and let stand overnight in refrigerator. Will keep several days.
Serve with your favorite cornbread recipe. Warm rice pudding or tapioca is the perfect dessert for this, according to my family. Yum!
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