We love pork and beans, especially with hot dogs, hamburgers or really any kind of barbecue. You don't need to own an authentic ceramic bean pot, but I decided to invest in one anyway. Baking beans, in liquid with brown sugar, molasses and a few other aromatics for several hours yields really flavorful beans that are firm, yet tender-- that is, they don't disintegrate into mushy beans which can happen if they are simmered too long over the stove. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart, with a few minor tweaks. This will be my new "go to" recipe for Boston Baked Beans-- or in my case "Pork and Beans", since I live in California!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Boston Baked Beans, Pork and Beans
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 hourshours40 minutesminutes
Total Time 6 hourshours
Servings 8
Calories 607kcal
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net
Ingredients
2poundsdried pinto or navy beansI recommend navy beans
1large onionabout 1-pound, peeled, halved and sliced
4canned plum tomatoesseeded and crushed (I used fresh roma tomatoes, sliced in half)
2dried bay leaves
1tablespoondry mustardplus 1 teaspoon
12whole clovesI recommend reducing to 8, as the cloves almost overpowered the flavor
1/2cupdark-brown sugarpacked (increase to 3/4 if you like sweeter beans)
1tablespoonplus 1 teaspoon coarse saltplus more for serving
1/2teaspoonfreshly ground black pepperplus more for serving
1/2cupunsulphured molasses
12ouncessalt porksliced
Instructions
Soak beans in cold water to cover overnight in a large bowl. Drain in a colander.
Heat oven to 300°F.
Arrange onions in the bottom of a bean pot or Dutch oven. Top, working in order, beginning with tomatoes, and continuing with bay leaves, dry mustard, cloves, brown sugar, and salt and pepper.
Add soaked beans and pour over molasses.
Top evenly with salt pork. Add 5 cups water and cover. (Note: I couldn't fit 5 cups of water into my bean pot. 3 hours later, I was able to add another 1/2 cup, which worked out just fine.)
Transfer to oven and bake (I'm glad I set my bean pot on a baking sheet, as the water did ooze out of the top), without stirring, until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened, about 6 hours. Check the beans every 45 minutes, adding hot water, if necessary, to keep beans slightly soupy at all times.
Note: After 5 hours, I felt the beans were a little too soupy. I returned the beans to the oven, without the lid. The beans, and sauce, became darker and more thickened. I was very happy with that result.
Remove from oven, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, before serving.
Notes
Tasting notes: Loved these beans! I will make them again, but just a bit more brown sugar and decrease the cloves. Then, they will be perfect!Recipe source: Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart