There is just something about winter that makes slow oven-cooked baked beans so tempting to make! So earthy, satisfying and rustic.
I wanted to make them seriously old-school so I turned to this recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School. The recipe makes a ton so I divided it in half!
The Recipe
You will need 6 oz of salt pork, sliced.
1 pound of pinto beans, soaked overnight in cold water then drained in a colander.
Arrange 1 peeled, halved and sliced onion on the bottom of a bean pot or an oven-safe Dutch oven.
Add 2 seeded and crushed canned plum tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, 3/4 tbsp of dry mustard, 6 whole cloves, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 tbsp coarse salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Add the pre-soaked beans and 1/4 molasses.
Top with slices of salt pork. Add five cups of water.
Transfer to preheated 300F oven and bake without stirring for six hours.
Every 45 minutes check the beans and add hot water.
You will want beans to be slightly soupy at all times.
This is after five hours and was the last time I added more water.
Oh yeah! That is what I am talking about. Now Martha did not say to remove salt pork slices so I did not and they dissolved into the dish which made it very salty so I recommend removing it.
Foodie Results
I have never enjoyed baked beans from a can but these are quite delicious. So rustic, made with lots of time and love, checking on the beans, adding water… I of course added some wieners to the dish and since it was a tad salty, had some over rice which soaked up the salt and was a very heart-warming winter dish. Very economical and as I said, this was half the recipe and I had a ton! I ate it for days and still had a lot that I froze and am enjoying again.
I give this recipe five out of five wooden spoons! Just make sure you have a day to spend in and out of your kitchen slow cooking this dish and you will have a ton of tasty food for very little money.
I wonder what makes beans “Boston” baked beans and not just plain old baked beans like everywhere else?
mmmm….I love baked beans. I need to make some ASAP. I freeze mine in small portions since I’m the only one who likes them in the family.
I always have them with a soft cooked egg and buttery toast 🙂
They look so good but I would like to leave out the pork. I’m sure they’d be good without don’t you think?
Debra, “an American dish of baked beans with salt pork and molasses.” I guess that’s what makes them Boston Baked Beans.
Alexis, that is exactly what I did! Small portions just for me since Reg doesn’t eat pork.
Amelia, you can of course. 🙂 They just will not taste the same which is why for once I went old school, I really wanted that smokey flavour.
We use Alton Brown’s recipe, and we substitute half the bacon for beef brisket. It’s delightfully meaty, and we got the idea from a show that featured a Jewish deli that made homemade baked beans regularly, using all brisket instead of pork.
what size canned tomatoes