Baked Beans

[Simon Patrice]

I like to add (on top of the salt pork) pork hocks and or knuckles to the mix. I also substitute at least half of the water with beer. They always turn out really good.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Simon Patrice (log)

[patrickamory]

I made janeer's recipe on Sunday but only was able to eat it today. Simply phenomenal - the best baked beans I've ever had, and one of my favorite dishes I've made, period. This hits some special spots for me - traditional New England cooking that hearkens back to my childhood, a combination of sweet and savory flavors, and a recent fascination with dried legumes.

I make my own salt pork and had about half a pound in the freezer, on the fattier side. Storebought salt pork is impossible to find in NYC so I used pancetta. janeer's recipe calls for lean salt pork so I think the ultra leanness of the pancetta was balanced out by my quite fatty homemade stuff. Otherwise I followed her directions to the letter, even resisting the temptation to add some pimentón, my favorite spice of late - next time!

Pictures of the whole process in the Dinner thread.

[judiu]

I made janeer's recipe on Sunday but only was able to eat it today. Simply phenomenal - the best baked beans I've ever had, and one of my favorite dishes I've made, period. This hits some special spots for me - traditional New England cooking that hearkens back to my childhood, a combination of sweet and savory flavors, and a recent fascination with dried legumes.

I make my own salt pork and had about half a pound in the freezer, on the fattier side. Storebought salt pork is impossible to find in NYC so I used pancetta. janeer's recipe calls for lean salt pork so I think the ultra leanness of the pancetta was balanced out by my quite fatty homemade stuff. Otherwise I followed her directions to the letter, even resisting the temptation to add some pimentón, my favorite spice of late - next time!

Pictures of the whole process in the Dinner thread.

Patrick, try looking in Mom and Pop stors in Harlem. Just my .02.

[janeer]

I made janeer's recipe on Sunday but only was able to eat it today. Simply phenomenal - the best baked beans I've ever had, and one of my favorite dishes I've made, period. This hits some special spots for me - traditional New England cooking that hearkens back to my childhood, a combination of sweet and savory flavors, and a recent fascination with dried legumes.

I make my own salt pork and had about half a pound in the freezer, on the fattier side. Storebought salt pork is impossible to find in NYC so I used pancetta. janeer's recipe calls for lean salt pork so I think the ultra leanness of the pancetta was balanced out by my quite fatty homemade stuff. Otherwise I followed her directions to the letter, even resisting the temptation to add some pimentón, my favorite spice of late - next time!

Pictures of the whole process in the Dinner thread.

So glad. See: better and better after a few days. Have you tried the sandwich yet?

Imagine it was really good with homemade salt pork. In NYC, any supermarket should have salt pork, especially any that is in a neighborhood with Portuguese.

[patrickamory]

Alas, I live in one of the most whitebread neighborhoods in NYC. 3 supermarkets and multiple Italian specialty stores but no salt pork. And I work in the Village... no better, too upscale. Even finding dark molasses is not easy (I used Grandma's Robust, it turned out well). I think the combo of homemade and pancetta worked well though!

(edit: and definitely better and better - tonight was my second night with it. the rest will be gone by tomorrow. have not tried the sandwich yet.)

Edited October 4, 2012 by patrickamory (log)

[Gregg]

Around here beans are a required side dish with bbq. Now that its tailgating season we make a lot of them. I use a mix of mostly navy beans and whatever other firm bean we have partial bags of in the pantry. Cooking in chicken or pork stock adds a ton of flavor. I reserve the bones from smoked pork butts and make a stock from them or add them to the beans while they cook. The smoke is in the background that way, but definitely there. My beans are meaty with either fairly heavily seasoned ground beef or pork added along with a fair amount of chopped up bacon. Lots of onions and a few finely diced hot peppers of your choice all get cooked with the burger and bacon. I usually use a combination of jalapenos and a habenaro or two. Add a little garlic, some cayenne, molasses, ketsup, brown sugar, ground horseradish (the key ingredient), a touch of yellow mustard and some bourbon for the sauce. A drop of liquid smoke in the bean's cooking stock is nice if you don't make a smoky stock or have any bbq bones laying around. All goes into a cast iron Dutch oven at 250* for about 3 hours (after the beans have previously cooked most of the way through). Sweet, spicy, smokey and simple. Best on the 2nd day.

[toolprincess]

Try to keep your spears sheathed - I make my baked beans using Bush's baked beans. 2 large cans of Bush's (one original and one with onions). Brown 1lb of bulk sausage with the onions, I use Jesse James sausage with sage. Drain and add to the beans. Add 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. A tsp of dry mustard and a squirt of yellow mustard. For certain audiences I might throw in a few jalapenos bu this is optional.

Stir and cover with foil. Bake at 200 degrees for three to four hours stirring occassionally. These beans always get rave reviews at cookouts.

[Norm Matthews]

As i mentioned before, I first make ham and beans with chicken stock and then make baked beans from left over beans but beans for BBQ is a step farther. Start with baked beans, either your own or in a can. For this i prefer canned- Bushes is fine- because they are blander than my baked beans and they take the additional seasoning well. For BBQ beans I add finely minced smoked brisket, BBQ rub, BBQ sauce, brown sugar and molasses.

[rod rock]

Baked beans is good with minced pork meat. I tried it with some chilli and it tastes good! Every recommendation.

[munchymom]

Inspired by this thread and the first chilly day of the season, I made baked beans last night. A pound of dry navy beans, pressure cooked until almost tender, then in the oven with some leftover ham, a half cup of maple syrup, a bit of mustard, some salt and pepper, baked at 300 for 3 hours. I thought they were delicious - homey and hearty and honest - my husband on the other hand went immediately in search of the ketchup. Needless to say we have a few leftovers. I'll doctor them up a bit and serve as a side dish with some bratwurst.

[rod rock]

It sounds yumm munchymom, are there some photos of the food?

[munchymom]

Sorry, no photos. I took the leftover beans and simmered them with a few gobs of ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, and the beer in which I'd simmered the brats. After all that mucking around I had something that tasted almost as good as what comes out of a can of Bush's. Those beans got eaten. Sigh.

[rod rock]

Ah ok then, i don't doubt it was good meal

[patrickamory]

janeer, just made your amazing Rhode Island baked beans for a second time. Friends were blown away.

Time was an issue this time so I ended up baking for only about 3 1/2 hours covered plus 45 minutes uncovered. It was still really good, though perhaps not quite as deep and intense as the full 6 hours.

Thanks again - my favorite new recipe this year.

[janeer]

janeer, just made your amazing Rhode Island baked beans for a second time. Friends were blown away.

Time was an issue this time so I ended up baking for only about 3 1/2 hours covered plus 45 minutes uncovered. It was still really good, though perhaps not quite as deep and intense as the full 6 hours.

Thanks again - my favorite new recipe this year.

Great; thank YOU! I'm so pleased. Wonder what you served them with? Try them sometime with nothing but steamed brown bread and butter--the Sat night supper of our forefathers. (But I don like them with ham and scalloped potatoes, and to be totally disgusting, served alongside a big mac and cheese).

[patrickamory]

janeer - first time was with thick slabs of cold black forest ham from Schaller & Webber's with Irish mustard.

Second time was straight up. The beans are sort of a complete meal in themselves.

(As a child, we had the canned Boston brown bread. I have not tried your recipe - I don't do much baking. I don't think the readymade canned stuff is easily available in NYC but I could be wrong. It probably is better to make your own anyway!)

[GeneMachine]

Hello guys - first post on eg, after quite some lurking.

This week, I made my first baked beans. I am from Germany, so all I ever had was the canned stuff. I decided that I'd go the whole way, cured my own salt pork (and lived to tell the tale) and made something along the lines of classic Boston baked beans - sweetened with molasses, some mustard powder, pork.

Perfect autumn dish, I have to say. However, one question remains, regarding the kind of beans to use. Navy beans are not available here - at least not under that name - so I used some cannellini. To my palate, unaccustomed to proper baked beans as it is, this worked well. If anyone has a suggestion to improve the bean selection with another variety more likely to be available in Europe, though, I'd appreciate the input. Sure gonna make that dish more often.

Thanks, all!

GM.

[patrickamory]

Hi GeneMachine,

Welcome to eGullet! And ... very impressed that you made proper New England baked beans in Germany! I've used cannelini beans to good effect.

Try ordering some of janeer's recommended butterscotch beans, if the shipping isn't prohibitive. They are superlative.

Patrick

[GeneMachine]

Thanks Patrick! I'll see if I can get my hands on them. My collection of dried legumes is getting out of hand anyway, so no sense in restricting my purchases...

The next batch of salt pork is curing away as of now - I am getting addicted.

GM

[janeer]

Thanks Patrick! I'll see if I can get my hands on them. My collection of dried legumes is getting out of hand anyway, so no sense in restricting my purchases...

The next batch of salt pork is curing away as of now - I am getting addicted.

GM

If you send me some of your home-cured salt pork, I will send you some beans!

[GeneMachine]

Tempting offer, Jane.

That might incur the wrath of customs, though. Ironic that you couldn't exchange one of the commodities that enabled transatlantic journeys in the first place over the Atlantic these days.

Fortunately, I found a source for navy beans via Amazon Germany AND a source for butterscotch beans at bosfood (you do not want to know what they are charging for those around here, though...)

More beans shall be baked, more meats shall be cured! I got my hands on Ruhlman's Charcuterie today, so the curing business will be taken to the next level soon....

GM.

[Charcuterer]

Has anyone tried the baked beans from the Rancho Gordo heirloom beans book? I love that recipe and it has been a hit with guests both times I made them.

[radtek]

Yes you must salt your beans once they are in the pot! How else will you introduce the salt into the bean? Tough skins are most likely a result from cooking dried beans.

I soak my beans for 24 hours usually and change the water at least three times. You won't get much flatulence this way in contrast to cooking dried beans which will cause a great deal of discomfortable gas. For large and hard beans I add a bit of baking soda to RO water and this speeds things up while they are soaking. Works like a charm for chickpeas.

IMO for baked beans and more specifically "Boston baked beans" you need to use small white ones like Great Northern or Navy beans. Probaby the same bean anyway. Mustard, ketchup, molasses or brown sugar and salt pork are signature. A crockpot or slowly baking will develop complexity.

[Shel_B]

I'd like to make the Rhode Island Baked Beans. Can they be prepared ahead and frozen? I'm guessing that the beans might become mushy ....

[patrickamory]

Don't know about freezing, but they certainly last in the fridge over a week - both times I've made them. The salt pork may act as a preservative.

The beans get pretty mushy anyway. They preserve some texture, and caramelize, but I'm not sure that freezing would alter that significantly... unless it made them gritty or mealy.