# Calling all bean lovers!



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 24, 2012)

Sprout has asked for the best baked bean recipe in the continental U.S. and Canada.  I'm posting what I put in mine, and they come out very good indeed.  But I want her to have options.  So, help me help a gal out.

Chief Longwind's Baked Beans:
Ingredients:
2 cups dried navy beans
2 tsp. salt
1 yellow onion
1 lb. pork steak
8 slices smoky bacon
2 tbs. mollases
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbs. tomato paste
2 tsp. coarse grind mustard

Clean and rinse the beans and place into a pot.  Cover with four cups water and let sit overnight, or bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.

Pour off the water and replace with 1 quart of fresh water. Add the salt. Bring beans to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and let cook for 2 hours.

At the end of the cooking time, test by munching a spoonful of beans.  They must be very soft, but not mushy.  If you need to, cook them for another 30 minutes or so.

While the beans are finishing up, Lilghtly fry the bacon, just until it starts to brown and much of the fat is rendered out.  Remove from heat and let cool.

While the bacon is frying, peel and dice the onion.  After you remove the bacon, saute the onion in the bacon grease.  Remove it from the pan when it just starts to soften.

Lighlty brown the pork steaks, in the same bacon grease.  Remove from the pan and let cool a little.

Cut the bacon and pork steaks into a medium dice.  Add them and the onions to the beans.  This won't cause the beans to get hard, if they aren't completely cooked through.

Again, test the beans.  If they are cooked through, add the remaining ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Let simmer for fifteen minutes and test-taste them again.  At this time, add more sweetener if you need it, maybe some black pepper, maybe a touch of your favorite barbecue sauce.  In other words, make it taste how you want it to taste.  Some add vinegar to their beans.  Some add a touch of cloves.  Others add more mustard, or molasses.  The idea is to create a ballance of flavors that compliment each other, and work with the pork.

Pour all ingredients into a large casserole dish and place into a 300 ' oven for two hours.  This will evaporate excess moisture, and allow the flavors to blend.  At the end of the cooking time, taste them.  Correct the flavor one last time if required.  Btu I think they should be ready to serve at this point.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 24, 2012)

I take a pound of small white beans or navy beans and soak them over night.  I put them in a heavy saucepan and add water an inch or so over the beans and bring to a simmer, skim off the white foam and continue to simmer covered for two hours.  I add water if needed but, try to resist it if the water is still just covering the beans.  After simmering 2 hours  I add 1 1/2 t of salt, pepper, 1T of molasses or pure maple syrup, a squirt of brown mustard and 1 T of dehydrated onion.  Place in a casserole and bake at 350 uncovered for 1 hour.  

The important part of making these beans is the 2 hours of simmering in the beginning.  The old girl that taught me to make these said if they look like they have cooked enough then cook'em some more!


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## CWS4322 (Apr 24, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Sprout has asked for the best baked bean recipe in the continental U.S. and Canada.  I'm posting what I put in mine, and they come out very good indeed.  But I want her to have options.  So, help me help a gal out.
> 
> Chief Longwind's Baked Beans:
> Ingredients:
> ...


Where's the maple syrup? I like to use side pork...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 24, 2012)

This is a two day recipe. One pound of navy beans soaked and cooked till tender.  

2 pounds of Country Style Boneless Pork ribs
2 onions, sliced 1/4"
1 stalk celery, sliced 1/4"
3 cups favorite BBQ sauce, homemade or bottled

Layer the onions and celery in 9x13 inch pan, top with the pork cover with foil and bake @ 350°F for 1 hour.  Uncover and pour on 2 cups of the BBQ sauce, recover with plastic wrap and foil. Bake 2 more hours until pork is tender.  Remove pork from pan and enjoy.

In the 9x13 pan, add the cooked beans, stir to coat with the onions, celery, sauce and drippings, add the last 1 cup of BBQ sauce. If there is pork left over, dice and add in.  Cover with foil and bake @ 350°F for one hour.

I used to do this for the old folks when I cooked at an assisted living home, they loved it.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 24, 2012)

I'll bet they did!  Sounds yummy!


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## Addie (Apr 24, 2012)

When my kids were small I baked Boston Baked Beans every Saturday just like my mother did before me. (After all, we are Bostonians.) I had a six quart bean pot. I would sort through the beans for stones and other undesirables, then cover in cold water overnight. Drain the water and place beans in a saucepan. Cover with fresh water, bring to a boil and simmer until skins on beans would burst when blown upon. Keep beans covered with water throughout the simmering process. Drain water and save. I then would take a large piece of salt pork and cut into six pieces. One for each of us. I would place a layer of beans on the bottom of the bean pot. Sprinkle with brown sugar, a large piece of onion, some molasses, and a piece of salt pork. Repeat until all the beans were in the pot and all the salt pork was placed. Take the reserved water from the boiling and pour over the beans. If needed add additional water until the beans were covered. Place in a 225ºF. oven for eight hours. Check hourly to make sure the beans were still covered with water until the last hour. Stir occasionally. Raise the heat to 300ºF. and continuing baking for the last hour. They should be swimming in a thick syrupy base. If there were any leftovers, it made great sandwiches on Monday morning for the kids to take to school along with all of their friends. Even the Italian community would make them. 

Measurements? This was a recipe that is made with the "fly by the seat of your pants" method. Passed on from mother to daughter just by watching. Except for the brown sugar, this recipe is the same as the Pilgrims made theirs. And it is my understanding that they brought it with them from England.


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## buckytom (Apr 24, 2012)

i was hoping that you were going to chime in, addie.  a real boston baked beans. there is no better.


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## Addie (Apr 24, 2012)

buckytom said:


> i was hoping that you were going to chime in, addie. a real boston baked beans. there is no better.


 
How could I not? In fact I even went so far as to look at bean pots on Amazon. My daughter loves them and every time she has a BBQ, she always serves Bush's Boston Recipe. She has asked me several times to make them for her again. I think I will before it gets too hot.


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## Andy M. (Apr 24, 2012)

Sugar was a rare and expensive commodity in colonial New England.  Recipes from that era were made with molasses.


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## Addie (Apr 24, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Sugar was a rare and expensive commodity in colonial New England. Recipes from that era were made with molasses.


 
Not only is the molasses used as a sweetener, it is what gives the beans their brown color.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Apr 25, 2012)

Chief Longwind  Baked beans what perfect synergy


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## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2012)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Chief Longwind  Baked beans what perfect synergy


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 25, 2012)

I am happy to report that due to a long life of eating fiber rich foods, my natural intestinal flora regulates itself properly so as to prevent embarrassing instances of any malodorous expulsions.  I may be Chief Longwind, but the wind comes from above the diaphragm, thank you very much.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I am happy to report that due to a long life of eating fiber rich foods, my natural intestinal flora regulates itself properly so as to prevent embarrassing instances of any malodorous expulsions.  I may be Chief Longwind, but the wind comes from above the diaphragm, thank you very much.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




So you say.

I'd like to ask your kids how often they had to deal with, "Pull my finger."!


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## Sprout (May 9, 2012)

Oh, which one do I try first?!


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## Sprout (May 9, 2012)

Oh, and as much as I enjoy razzing my dad, I have to agree with him on this one. If there was an expulsion expert in the household, it was actually our mom!  Her father however, did teach us the "pull my finger" game. I'd venture to say that's where she learned it. If I remember correctly, Grandpa Longwind (Chief's dad) wasn't too shy about his bodily functions, either. Chief will have to confirm that one, though, as I was pretty young when he passed away.


P.S. Dad, don't tell Mom I ratted her out!


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