Boston Baked Beans
I have a secret obsession with baked beans. Secret because there is something ‘unladylike’ about a love of baked beans. But I just can’t help myself. The combination of sweet and salty, when done right, is just heavenly. I have been known on occasion to eat a bowl of baked beans alone and call it dinner. Well I guess the secret is out!
As part of my obsession, I have sought after the perfect recipe. For years I tried countless different additions and substitutions- maple syrup, honey, hot sauce. I also experimented extremely with soaking, par-boiling, cook times. They were never quite right. And then I just took it back to the basics and found…perfection. Like so many truths in life simplicity produces the greatest results.
For proper baked beans, you need to use dried beans and soak them overnight. This is pretty much a requirement for all good recipes involving beans. It requires forethought but minimal effort. This recipe requires a short cook on the stove top with water and aromatics. Bacon and onions are fried up separately on the stove top and the beans are cooked in the oven with the bacon, onions, cooking water and only three additional ingredients: molasses, pepper and mustard. The results may make you a little bean obsessed too! Don’t be ashamed!
Boston Baked Beans
Serious Eats
1 pound dried navy beans
kosher salt
1 yellow onion, peeled, trimmed, and halved
1 carrot, peeled, trimmed and halved
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs of rosemary, sage and/or thyme
1 bay leaf
½ cup (120 mL) dark molasses (not blackstrap)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ pound bacon, cut into ½ inch chunks
1 large yellow onion diced (about 225 g or 8 oz.)
Apple cider vinegar, to taste
In a medium bowl, cover beans with cold water by several inches and stir in 1 tablespoon (15g) salt. Let beans soak at least 12 hours and up to 1 day. Drain and rinse.
Combine beans with onion, carrot, garlic and herbs in a large pot and cover with water by several inches. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, topping up with water as necessary, until beans are fully tender, about 45 minutes. Using tongs, discard vegetables and aromatics.
Meanwhile, pour molasses into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Add mustard, a very generous dose of freshly ground black pepper (let it rain!), and a pinch of salt.
Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid. Add enough bean-cooking liquid to molasses mixture to bring the volume up to 2 cups (475ml) and stir until molasses is completely dissolved. Reserve remaining bean-cooking liquid.
Preheat oven to 325°F. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is beginning to lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is very tender and just beginning to turn golden, about 6 minutes. Add beans to pot.
Add bean water/molasses mixture and stir well to combine. Add enough reserved bean-cooking water to just barely cover beans, then stir once more, leveling out beans so that none are sticking up above the liquid level. Bring to a simmer.
Transfer beans to oven and bake, uncovered, until beans are extremely tender but still mostly whole, with only a small fraction beginning to burst, about 4 hours. Check beans once or twice per hour during baking, adding remaining bean-cooking liquid (switching eventually to boiling water if you run out) as needed to prevent the beans on the surface from drying out. Stir beans twice during the baking process to submerge the top ones, leveling them out each time; over time, a dark, browned crust will form on the surface of the beans (this is good). The goal throughout is to keep the liquid level just high enough that the upper beans don’t desiccate, but not so high that the surface doesn’t brown. Stop adding liquid during the last hour of baking unless the level becomes perilously low.
Remove beans from oven and stir them very well. The sauce should form into a thickened, starchy glaze. If it’s too dry, add boiling water sparingly until a glaze is achieved; if it’s too wet, simmer briefly on the stovetop until reduced to desired consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If beans are too sweet for your taste, a small splash of cider vinegar can help balance the flavour.
Keep warm until ready to serve. Beans can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Reheat in a saucepan, adding water gradually as needed to loosen them back up.