Boston Baked Beans

Recreate the amazing flavor of B&M baked beans in true New England style! This Boston baked bean recipe blends the enticing sweetness of rich dark molasses, cured bacon, and perfectly blended seasonings together in one pot with minimal effort.

For our southern friends, salt pork is more commonly known as Fatback in your neck of the woods. You’ll notice right away that this is a no-soak recipe.

Most dried bean recipes call for soaking the beans first under the notion that soaking beans in cold water leaches the sugars (mainly raffinose and stachyose) out of the bean, thereby preventing that fermented gas faux pas that many of us associate with the consumption of beans..

“Beans .. beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot”

Unfortunately, this is just a myth and all soaking does is make your recipe take longer.

You’ll Need:
* 1 pkg navy beans
* 1/2 pound raw bacon (or 1/4 pound salt pork cut into cubes)
* 1 onion, diced
* 1/3 c. molasses
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 3 T. Brown Sugar
* 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
* 6 Cups water

Rinse the beans thoroughly in a strainer, be sure to check for possible stones.

Place the beans in 6 cups of cold water in a large pot, add baking soda and heat to boiling, reduce heat to med-low and simmer 10 minutes with a cover on the pot. Shut off the heat, let the beans set covered, undisturbed for 1 hour.

Drain in a colander placed over a large bowl (to reserve the liquid!!), do NOT discard the liquid.

Transfer the drained beans to the slow-cooker, add the raw salt pork (bacon or fatback), and onions. Add Molasses, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper and 2 c. of the reserved liquid, stir thoroughly. Add enough liquid to cover the beans.

Cover the pot/crockpot and cook for 2 hours. Add remaining liquid, stir and continue cooking 2-3 more hours, or until beans are tender.

Serve with Side salad, cornbread or brown bread and steamed hot dogs for a delicious, hearty meal.

© Can Stock Photo / bhofack2

Boston Baked Beans

Article or recipe authorAuthor: Melissa 'Liss' Burnell

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preparation timePrep 20 minutes mins

cook timeCook 5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

total timeTotal 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Tender navy beans slow-cooked with bacon, onion, molasses, brown sugar, and mustard for a rich, old-fashioned baked bean side. Estimated total cost is $6.17 for the batch, or about $0.77 per 1-cup serving.

ServingsServings 8 servings

CourseCourse Dinner, Sauce & Condiment, Side Dish

CuisineCuisine American

Budget101 Price BreakdownApprox Cost: $6.17

Ingredients

1/21x2x

• ▢ 1 lb navy beans
• ▢ ½ lb raw bacon
• ▢ 1 onion diced
• ▢ ⅓ cup molasses
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp dry mustard
• ▢ 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ ½ tsp baking soda
• ▢ 6 cups water

Equipment

Large pot

Colander

large bowl

Slow cooker

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Knife

Cutting Board

Instructions

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1. Rinse the beans thoroughly in a strainer and check for stones.
2. Place the beans in a large pot with 6 cups cold water and the baking soda.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let the beans stand, covered, for 1 hour.
5. Drain the beans over a large bowl and reserve the cooking liquid.
6. Transfer the drained beans to the slow cooker.
7. Add the bacon or salt pork and diced onion.
8. Stir in the molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of the reserved liquid.
9. Add enough additional reserved liquid to cover the beans.
10. Cover and cook for 2 hours.
11. Add the remaining liquid, stir, and continue cooking 2 to 3 hours longer, or until the beans are tender.
12. Serve hot.

Recipe Size Alteration

💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.

Notes

Yield is estimated at about 8 cups, or 8 servings.
Prep time is estimated from the written steps.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 to 4 days.
Freeze leftovers up to 2 months for best quality.

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