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.
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.
If you add the molasses to the cooking process too early, the beans will take significantly longer to cook.