# My Baked Beans



## luckytrim (May 9, 2019)

My Baked Beans

 1 lb. dry pinto beans 
1 lb. dry red beans (not kidney beans) 
 1 lb. dry black beans
 2 lb bacon 
 1 qt. Tomato juice
 2 cups ketchup
 2 cups brown sugar, packed
 2 cups dark corn syrup (karo)
 2 large onions, chopped
 4 tsp prepared mustard  
1 1\2 tsp white pepper 
1 1\2 tsp ginger
 3 (15 ½ oz) cans diced tomatoes, with liquid 
 1/4 cup Liquid Smoke (optional)

 Soak beans, covered, overnight in a large pot in cold water.
 Next day, drain the beans, rinse, and return to pot. Cover with fresh  water
 and bring to the boil over high heat.
 Lower heat to a simmer. Cook beans 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring often,
 Or until beans are tender.

 While beans are cooking;
 Cut bacon into bite-size squares
 Fry till limp, not crispy; drain 

 Combine all ingredients (except beans) in a large saucepan over low heat  and mix well. 


 When beans are done;

 Drain off the liquid

 Put in large roaster- layer of beans, a few ladles-full of the sauce-  repeat-repeat

 Bake, uncovered, @ 350 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

 For zippy baked beans, substitute 5 (10 oz.) cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with  Chili's for the diced tomatoes and add 2-4 Chile's, chopped fine...


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## kenmiller (May 9, 2019)

Its looking amazing, mouthwatering!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 21, 2019)

Though this is not a classic New England style baked bean recipe, it looks very good, and after reading the ingredients, it should taste very good as well.  I'm thinking this would be great on a summer day with a side of fresh corn on the cob, cole slaw, and watermelon  I think sSome q'd kielbasa, or a grilled burger would be great with it as well.  Thanks for the recipe.  Now, If I could only eat legumes (heavy sigh).

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## blissful (Jun 21, 2019)

luckytrim, great recipe. I especially love that it doesn't have chili powder in it--because it bites DH. I love chili powder but him not so much. I'm going to try using more mustard in our recipe and add some ginger and see how he likes it.



Also I like the portioning, having all that food made up at once, for future meals. Thanks for sharing the pictures.


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## luckytrim (Jun 21, 2019)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Though this is not a classic New England style baked bean recipe, it looks very good, and after reading the ingredients, it should taste very good as well.  I'm thinking this would be great on a summer day with a side of fresh corn on the cob, cole slaw, and watermelon  I think sSome q'd kielbasa, or a grilled burger would be great with it as well.  Thanks for the recipe.  Now, If I could only eat legumes (heavy sigh).
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North






Of course it's not ! that's why it's "MY" Baked Beans.....


You want a classic recipe; HA ! there are dozens of them......


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## Addie (Jun 22, 2019)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Though this is not a classic New England style baked bean recipe, it looks very good, and after reading the ingredients, it should taste very good as well.  I'm thinking this would be great on a summer day with a side of fresh corn on the cob, cole slaw, and watermelon  I think sSome q'd kielbasa, or a grilled burger would be great with it as well.  Thanks for the recipe.  Now, If I could only eat legumes (heavy sigh).
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



You are right Chief. But New England is not the beginning or end of the world. So many places on our planet eat beans of different kind. That recipe sounds like if placed on the middle of a picnic table in the back yard, it would disappear very quickly. 

Unfortunately, like you I too can no longer eat any food that has a skin on it. Beans, corn, peas, etc. Those skins are now the cause of my health problems.


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## larry_stewart (Jun 23, 2019)

That made quite a bit.  How long does it store for?  what's the best way to store it ?  or were you just packing it up in multiple containers to give away ?


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## luckytrim (Jun 23, 2019)

The majority went into the freezer, in the containers pictured...... They held up well....... last container came to the table after about 20 weeks....


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## larry_stewart (Jun 23, 2019)

Whats the best way to heat up from the frozen state?   
( I didn't know baked beans could be frozen)


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## luckytrim (Jun 23, 2019)

Defrost in Fridge..... Then you can heat in a saucepan , or the microwave..... I prefer the stove..........


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## larry_stewart (Jun 23, 2019)

luckytrim said:


> Defrost in Fridge..... Then you can heat in a saucepan , or the microwave..... I prefer the stove..........



Thanks !


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## Cheryl J (Jun 23, 2019)

Looks and sounds delish, LT.  Thank you for sharing!


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## blissful (Jun 24, 2019)

Luckytrim, I used your spices of mustard and ginger instead of chili powder, and my beans have molasses in them, no bacon. DH thought they were VERY GOOD and no bite to them, so he is very happy and my recipe is changed now. Thank you.


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## jabbur (Jun 25, 2019)

It looks wonderful! I have not had good luck doing beans on the stove. I have a hard time getting the simmer right. I always do mine in the crockpot. Would that work? Will 3 lbs of beans fit in a 7 qt crock? If I could do them that way, the rest would be easy. I'd love to try it!


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## blissful (Jun 25, 2019)

jabbur said:


> Would that work? Will 3 lbs of beans fit in a 7 qt crock? If I could do them that way, the rest would be easy. I'd love to try it!




I was canning beans 2 weeks ago. For 2 lbs of beans I got 8-9 pints or 16-18 cups. (beans vary on how dry they are or how long they are stored) So per lb of beans 8-9 cups, 3 lbs would be around 24-27 cups or 6-7 quarts. That's with no sauce. It might be a tight fit in a 7 quart crockpot.


A note on crockpots, some crock pots on high will heat to boiling temperature, this is necessary for beans, if cooking from dry to cooked, to cook at least 20 minutes at boiling. Then they can be turned down to a temperature less than boiling for the rest of the time.


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## jabbur (Jun 25, 2019)

blissful said:


> I was canning beans 2 weeks ago. For 2 lbs of beans I got 8-9 pints or 16-18 cups. (beans vary on how dry they are or how long they are stored) So per lb of beans 8-9 cups, 3 lbs would be around 24-27 cups or 6-7 quarts. That's with no sauce. It might be a tight fit in a 7 quart crockpot.
> 
> 
> A note on crockpots, some crock pots on high will heat to boiling temperature, this is necessary for beans, if cooking from dry to cooked, to cook at least 20 minutes at boiling. Then they can be turned down to a temperature less than boiling for the rest of the time.



I do have a 6 qt and a 7 qt so I could split it up between the two. I don't know why I can't get it right on the stove but it seems they come out tougher on the stove than when I do the crockpot. Thanks. I may have to try these.


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## rodentraiser (Jun 30, 2019)

Good timing on this thread. I'm actually going to make baked beans in a couple of days. I plan to leave out the bacon and throw in some sliced hot dogs. No matter how long I soak beans, though, they always stay hard so this time I decided to do it the easy way. I got Van de Kamp's canned beans. 

I'll just combine everything, throw it in a casserole dish, and toss it in the oven for a couple hours. What could possible go wrong?*  


*sarcasm - it's me cooking, anything could go wrong.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 30, 2019)

rodentraiser said:


> Good timing on this thread. I'm actually going to make baked beans in a couple of days. I plan to leave out the bacon and throw in some sliced hot dogs. No matter how long I soak beans, though, they always stay hard so this time I decided to do it the easy way. I got Van de Kamp's canned beans.
> 
> I'll just combine everything, throw it in a casserole dish, and toss it in the oven for a couple hours. What could possible go wrong?*
> 
> ...


Remember, sugar absorbs moisture like none other.  If you are going to add brown sugar, make sure your beans start a bit saucer, as the sugar will draw moisture from the beans, making them turn hard.  The acid from tomatoes also can keep beans from softening properly when making from dried harden beams.  But since you are starting with VanKamps already cooked beans, that won't be a problem.

Contrary to popular belief, when cooking dried beans, salted water doesn not keep the beans from becoming tender.  It does keep the skins from exploding however.  So simmering the beans in salted water actually improves the beans texture.  Acids are what keep the beans from becoming tender.  

In any case, make sure the beans are wet enough, or the long simmering can dry them out, even when they start out tender.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## bethzaring (Jun 30, 2019)

blissful said:


> I was canning beans 2 weeks ago. For 2 lbs of beans I got 8-9 pints or 16-18 cups. (beans vary on how dry they are or how long they are stored) So per lb of beans 8-9 cups, 3 lbs would be around 24-27 cups or 6-7 quarts. That's with no sauce. It might be a tight fit in a 7 quart crockpot.
> 
> 
> A note on crockpots, some crock pots on high will heat to boiling temperature, this is necessary for beans, if cooking from dry to cooked, to cook at least 20 minutes at boiling. Then they can be turned down to a temperature less than boiling for the rest of the time.



I was canning beans last week.  Canned 18 pints of pintos and 18 pints of bolitas.  I used last years v-8 juice for the liquid and bacon.  Dh has very specific tastes in his cooked beans...gotta be like Mom's....and I have finally mastered it.


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## rodentraiser (Jun 30, 2019)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Remember, sugar absorbs moisture like none other.  If you are going to add brown sugar, make sure your beans start a bit saucer, as the sugar will draw moisture from the beans, making them turn hard.  The acid from tomatoes also can keep beans from softening properly when making from dried harden beams.  But since you are starting with VanKamps already cooked beans, that won't be a problem.
> 
> Contrary to popular belief, when cooking dried beans, salted water doesn not keep the beans from becoming tender.  It does keep the skins from exploding however.  So simmering the beans in salted water actually improves the beans texture.  Acids are what keep the beans from becoming tender.
> 
> ...



Thank you - that's very helpful! I usually throw in the brown sugar by the carload, but I found a new recipe that really cuts the sugar down and is supposed to have a lot of spices. That's why I think I'll bake them this time instead of putting them in the crock pot. I just need a change of flavor this time.


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