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I've seen plenty of threads here about beans, but not about Boston Baked Beans specifically.
I made these a few years ago. I remember they took *forever* to cook in the oven, but boy, were they
good. They were SO much better than the canned variety.
I was raised on B&M Baked Beans and B&M Brown Bread, both New England regional specialties. The
beans were firm and heavily flavored with molasses. My Mom would "doctor up" the canned beans with
mustard, and I think maybe some catsup and onions, for flavor.
Some of the older Cape Cod houses come equipped with what Mom called a "Cape Cod oven" which is a
little recess in the brick fireplace where a bean pot can be placed. The idea is to have the beans
cook over a low fire, all day long.
We live faster-paced lives now, and I'm reminded of that whenever I encounter a recipe that demands
such an extended amount of time (the only other recipe that comes to mind right now--and I am sure
there are many more--is the so-called "Washday Soup"[1] which the housewife prepares over the course
of six hours while she is otherwise occupied with the laundry).
So, I thought I'd try them again. I'm using as my references
Kerr, Mary Brandt America, a Regional Cookbook Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, a division of
Book Sales, Inc. (date?) Baked Beans, p. 23
Farmer, Fannie Merritt The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, 8th ed. Boston: Little, Brown & Company,
1948 Boston Baked Beans, pp. 435-436
**********************
BOSTON BAKED BEANS
4 cups small white beans ("pea" or "Navy" beans)[2] 1 lb. lean salt pork 1 large onion, peeled
and chopped
1/2 cup dark molasses
2/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 tablespoon salt
3/8 teaspoon ginger
Sort dry beans and pick them over. Cover with cold water and soak overnight.
Drain off soak water, cover beans with fresh water, cook one hour until tender. (NOTE: Kerr says to
"cook one hour" and Farmer says to "cook until skins will burst"-- I may have overcooked mine a bit;
I started them off at a brisk boil then turned them down to a low boil, after one hour they were a
bit mushy).
Drain beans and reserve cooking liquid. Combine molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt and ginger with
one cup of heated cooking liquid, stir until sugar and molasses are dissolved.
Make deep cuts in the salt pork at 1/2-inch intervals, down to the rind.
Place one cup of beans in bottom of pot or large casserole dish. Cover with onions. Add salt pork,
rind up. Pour molasses liquid over contents. Add the rest of the beans and enough water to cover the
beans. Put lid on pot, bake at 225 degrees F for about eight (8) hours.
**********************
I might garnish the finished beans with a bit of bacon.
Now I need to get the brown bread to accompany this. I'll probably end up buying canned (here in the
San Francisco Bay Area, it's rather hard to find, and the homemade stuff takes forever to steam on
the stovetop).
[4] Mickler, Ernest Matthew. White Trash Cooking. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press, 1986. Mary
Linder's Washday Soup, p. 26
[5] I used Brown's Best "Navies" produced by Kelley Bean Co., Morrill, NE 69358
-- dkra
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dkraatmmiiidotixdotnetcomdotcom [Subtract two thousand and (one plus two), plus the "." of course.]