Can Free Baked Beans

We didn’t eat any Boston Baked Beans…just took pics, originally uploaded by Hootyhoorosie.

I (N.) don’t think baked beans grace a lot of Thanksgiving tables but everytime my mom cooked she made these so I’m kind of attached. Of course she always used a can, funny seeing how she grew up on farm and learned to cook from scratch but it certainly makes everything go faster to use canned goods.

I couldn’t find a recipe that exactly matches what I’m looking for and the Bush’s family certainly isn’t sharing their secrets. Instead I found this recipe for Boston Baked Beans. I lived in Boston for four years and never got a chance to try these for real (the candy pictured above is quite good though) so I figured I’d give it a whirl. I already have most of the ingredients and with a four plus star rating and 146 reviews chances are this recipe will be a hit.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups navy beans
2. 1/2 pound bacon

Don’t tell my mom she doesn’t eat pork

3. 1 onion, finely diced
4. 3 tablespoons molasses
5. 2 teaspoons salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
7. 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
8. 1/2 cup ketchup
9. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
10. 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preparation as follows:

1. Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer the beans in the same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve the liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
3. Arrange the beans in a 2 quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with bacon and onion.
4. In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 3 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until beans are tender. Remove the lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.

I’ve never made anything from dried beans before, I kind of have a phobia. When I was a teenager my stepmom made chili from dried beans and while I didn’t eat any the rest of the family had an adverse tummy reactions to put it politely. I realize it wasn’t necessarily the beans but she never used dried beans again.

I’m sure it will be fine, right?