Old Fashioned Baked Beans

I am a lucky, lucky chef to have my Mom’s Vintage Family Bean Pot handed down to me. The beans just taste better made in this good old bean pot! The recipe that I am sharing with you for Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans is an easy dish to throw together. It can slow cook all day on a Sunday afternoon and you will be rewarded with a rich and fragrant comfort dish.

I feel very fortunate to have the vintage family bean pot. It has been in our family for at least four generations.

It has a worn and rustic patina on the outer surface and is wonderfully seasoned from decades of use. The fragrance filling my kitchen was so inviting that we could hardly wait to dig in.

The recipe that I have the best results with starts with dried beans. Although most of the recipes I have made in the past use navy beans, I prefer a medley of beans.

Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans using a Medley of Beans

Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans

INGREDIENTS:

Bacon ½ lb., sliced into “lardons”

Onion, diced One large or two medium

Garlic, minced 4 cloves

Sauce:

Ketchup or salsa 1/2 cup

Barbeque Sauce 1 cup

Bay leaves 2 leaves

Beer 1 cup

Dry Mustard 2 Tbsp.

Mustard, whole grain 2 Tbsp.

Brown sugar ¼ cup

Maple Syrup ¼ cup

Molasses ¼ cup

Worcestershire Sauce 1 Tbsp.

Tabasco sauce 3 dashes

Apple Cider vinegar ¼ cup

Water (or other liquid) As necessary

Salt 1 tsp.

Pepper, ground 1 tsp.

Beans, rinsed well 4 cans (19 oz.) navy beans or bean medley

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 350^oF (320^oF for convection ovens)
In a large ovenproof pot, fry the bacon until crispy. Set aside.
Drain all but 1 Tbsp. of bacon fat. Place the diced onion into the pot and soften until translucent and fragrant. Add minced garlic, and cook a little longer, stirring. (By now, your kitchen will smell wonderful – bacon and onion – as Emeril Lagasse would exclaim – “you’re playing with my emotions”!).
Add the rest of the ingredients (don’t forget the bacon!) into the pot and stir the mixture well.
Cover the pot and place into the oven.
Bake for one hour or until bubbly hot. Serve with fresh biscuits and a green salad

Yield: Enough to feed 8 – 10 people.

NOTES:

Check after 45 minutes to see if beans need additional liquid: i.e.: the remainder of the beer in the can; or, broth, red wine, water, etc.
Beans freeze well. Store overnight before freezing for optimum flavour.
This recipe works very well in a crockpot. Starting from step 4, place all ingredients into crockpot instead of the oven, cover and cook on low 4 to 6 hours.

See Post: The Vintage Family Bean Pot

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Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans

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