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Baked Beans

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Makes 6 to 8 servings 1x

Time at least 4 hours, largely unattended

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried navy, pea, or other small white beans, rinsed and picked over
  • 8 ounces salt pork or slab bacon
  • 1/2 cup molasses, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons prepared mustard, or to taste
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 300°F. Put the beans in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2 to 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the liquid bubbles gently. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until they lose their dried look, about 20 minutes.
  2. Cube or slice the pork and put it in a large ovenproof pot or deep baking dish. Drain off but reserve the bean cooking liquid. Stir the molasses and mustard into the beans and pour them over the pork. Pour on enough of the bean cooking liquid to cover the beans by about an inch; do not stir. Reserve the rest of the liquid.
  3. Bake, uncovered and undisturbed, for an hour. Then start checking and stirring just the beans every half hour or so; you want the pork to remain on the bottom. Add more cooking liquid or water if necessary to keep the beans covered. After about 3 hours, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper, sweetener, and/or mustard as you like.
  4. The beans may be fully tender; if not, keep checking every 15 minutes or so. When they’re ready, scoop the pork up from the bottom and lay it on top of the beans. Raise the heat to 400°F and bake until the pork browns a bit and the beans are bubbling, about 10 minutes. You may turn and layer the meat across the top a couple more times; browning it all over darkens the color of the dish and adds flavor. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot. (Or refrigerate for several days or freeze for months; reheat gently.)

7 Ideas for Baked Beans

1. Add ketchup to taste, or substitute sugar or maple syrup—or a combination—for the molasses.

2. Add Worcestershire, soy, or Tabasco sauce to taste.

3. Add an onion or two, quartered, and/or a few chunks of carrot in Step 2.

4. Substitute raw or smoked sausage, cut into chunks, for the pork.

5. Omit the meat and add 1 cup coconut milk along with the cooking liquid.

6. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder, chili powder, or any other spice mixture you like.

7. Add 4 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock after baking to make a big pot of soup.

– How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition 

Recipe variations

Vegetarian Baked Beans
Less fat, but still really good: Omit the pork. In Step 2, spread 3 tablespoons softened butter or olive oil in the pot. Scatter 1 large or 2 medium onions, quartered, on top of the fat. Add 2 cups chopped tomatoes or 1 28- ounce can to the beans along with the molasses and mustard. Pour over the onions and tuck in a large piece of kombu, if you like, for extra flavor. Brown and stir the top layer of the beans as described for the meat in Step 4. Remove the kombu before serving; discard it or chop into pieces to stir back into the beans.

Baked Beans with a Cracker Crumb Crust
Works with the main recipe or the vegetarian version: After raising the oven temperature in Step 4, sprinkle the top of the beans with about 1 1/2 cups crumbled saltines or bread crumbs. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 30 minutes.