New England baked beans

Labor Day weekend will mean baked beans for many in New England. When I moved here and knew nothing about making them, even I knew that a recipe for Boston baked beans that began with two jalapeno peppers wasn’t authentic. It was an Alton Brown creation (bless his Southern heart) which, mercifully, is not on the Food Network website but I was writing down his recipe and remember it well. One day I was talking recipes with a friend here, an excellent cook whose family goes back generations in Massachussetts. I mentioned the jalapeno version. When she finished laughing I asked if she’d share her recipe. I knew hers would be authentic.

“Oh,” she said with a wave of her hand, “I use the one on the bag.”

Since then, at least a dozen New Englanders have told me they use the recipe “on the bag”, always adding, “But here’s the trick: use maple syrup.” Some use it instead of molasses, some go 50/50 and some just add a bit of syrup with the molasses. No matter which way it’s used, it’s vital that only pure maple syrup is used, not that fake stuff for pancakes. If Grade B can be found, so much the better.

So that’s the bag up there and the recipe’s excellent. They’re Navy beans but another Maine company puts its almost-identical recipe on bags of soldier beans, which I’m told are the bean of choice in Maine. They look like black-eyed peas but the eye is dark red; like the black-eyes, they are quite large when cooked. I prefer navy beans or even pea beans but any of those can be used or a combination.

Another flexible aspect of baked beans is how to cook them. They must be cooked slowly and most New Englanders I know use a slow cooker nowadays, not the oven. So do I. It’s a perfect use for that crockery appliance but if your Martha gene kicks in and you feel you must serve them from a bean pot, warm up the pot in the oven and transfer the finished beans from the slow cooker.

Whatever you do, don’t make them on the stovetop with canned pork and beans and ketchup. Please. That recipe is on the Food Network site and not surprisingly, it’s from the semi-homemade cook — emphasis on semi. I can’t bring myself to link to it. Even jalapeno beans would be better.

New England Baked Beans

Adapted from The Bag with input from friends

1 pound Navy beans
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 pound salt pork *
1/4 cup (4 TB) white sugar
2 TB or more pure maple syrup
1/2 cup (8 TB) or less molasses
1 tsp dry mustard **
salt and pepper to taste

16 ounces boiling water

*Thick slab bacon can be used if you can’t find salt pork.
**An important ingredient. Some people whose family recipes don’t call for it told me they add it.

Pick over the beans, rinse and place in large pot. Add enough cold water to cover, plus one inch, and soak overnight. Drain well.

Trim the rind off the salt pork and cut into a 1/2″ dice.

Put the onion into the pot — or into the slow cooker, if using — and put the drained beans on top. Scatter the salt pork on top of the beans.

Mix the remaining ingredients with the boiling water and pour over the beans. Add more water if needed to cover the beans.

Bake in a 300 degree oven (150C) until beans are tender, about 6 hours, adding boiling water as needed as they cook.

In a slow cooker: cook on low for 8 – 10 hours or on high for 4 – 5. You’ll probably not need to add water this way.

Ella’s notes: I’m not a huge fan of baked beans because they’re often too sweet. This recipe’s not overly sweet but I add about 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar to balance it more for my palate. Some people enjoy it that way, others don’t and still others aren’t aware of the vinegar at all. Your call, as always.

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Tagged as: pork, side dishes, slow cooking