New England Baked Beans

These baked beans are flavor-packed and wonderfully sweet. While some recipes call for 12 hours of total cooking time, this approach cuts down the cooking time to about 4 hours.

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New England Baked Beans

These baked beans are flavor-packed and wonderfully sweet. While some recipes call for 12 hours of total cooking time, this approach cuts down the cooking time to about 4 hours.

Ingredients

• 8 oz salt pork, or pancetta (medium dice)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 white onion (small dice)
• 3 cups dried navy beans (soaked in water overnight with 2 Tbsp salt)
• 1 Tbsp dried mustard powder
• 3 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• ¾ cup dark molasses
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

• After the beans have soaked overnight in salted water, drain and rinse them.
• Place a dutch oven on the stovetop and melt 1 Tbsp butter.
• Add the salt pork and diced white onion and stir to combine.
• Add the rinsed navy beans, dried mustard powder, and freshly-ground black pepper.
• Add enough water to cover by ½”
• Reduce heat to a simmer and add the lid.
• Cook at a gentle simmer for roughly 90-120 minutes
• Until the beans are almost tender and cooked through, but not mushy.
• When the beans are almost entirely cooked through, add the remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven
• Stir gently to combine.
• Cook in the oven at 250F in a Dutch oven with a lid for an additional 2 hours
• Stirring gently every 30 minutes.
• If the beans get too dry while they finish cooking in the oven, add a few ounces of boiling water.
• Remove beans from the oven when the liquid is almost gone and the beans are completely tender.
• Taste and adjust salt & pepper for seasoning.

Notes

Baked beans taste great re-heated, and are a welcome side-dish at any outdoor gathering or BBQ.
If you add the molasses to the cooking process too early, the beans will take significantly longer to cook.