Old Fashioned Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2-pounds dried navy beans
- 12 ounces salt pork, diced in small pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp. prepared yellow mustard, plus 1 tsp.
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. coarse salt, plus 1 tsp.
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Place the dried beans in a pot of water, covered by a few inches of water, and let soak overnight.
- Drain the beans; place back in the pot with fresh water; bring to a boil; simmer for one hour (see note); drain, reserving the liquid.
- In a Dutch oven, or other oven-proof pot, fry the salt port until crispy; add the onions and cook until soft and translucent; 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and bay leaves.
- Add 1-½ cups of the reserved bean water and the beans; add additional water to achieve beans which are slightly jiggly at this point.
- Bring everything to a simmer, for a minute or two, to heat up.
- In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 325°F.
- Transfer the Dutch oven, with the lid on, to the middle rack of the pre-heated oven; bake for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened; removing the lid during the last 20 to 30 minutes to help the sauce thicken.
- Check the beans every 45 minutes to determine if additional water should be needed; if so, boil the amount of water needed (as to not interrupt the baking process) and pour into the beans.
- The beans can vary from batch to batch and may end up either needing to add more liquid (if the beans are too dry), or may need to be baked longer, with the lid off, if there is too much liquid; adjust as needed.
- Remove from the oven; add more salt or pepper, to taste, if needed.
- Serve immediately or let cool completely and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Depending on the age and storage condition of the beans, some can remain hard even after hours of cooking. A classic trick is to add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the beans while boiling (1/4 teaspoon for every pound of beans). Be careful though – if too much is added or if it’s added to beans that aren’t too hard, mushy beans will be the result.
Beans can be re-heated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Slow Cooker Method: Follow steps 1 and 2 and then pour everything into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, on high for 3 to 4 hours or until the beans are tender. Open the lid for the last 30 minutes, or longer, until the sauce has thickened. If the beans are too thick, at any point, and too much liquid has evaporated, stir in a little extra water.