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Grampa's Baked Beans

The Editors
Yield
6 to 8 servings
Category
Beans
Course
Main Dish
Preparation Method
Bake
Sources
User Submitted
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You won’t find a better baked beans recipe. Try it! When I was growing up, we would make these baked beans every Saturday night.  My mother made them without the maple syrup and my father would use maple syrup. I use both.

It’s the ultimate comfort food—so savory and flavorful. Enjoy them as a side at a cookout or just on toast in the morning. You can’t go wrong. 

Ingredients
1 pound dry navy beans or great northerns
1/4 pound salt pork, cut into chunks or score halfway through
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chopped onion
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
2--3 tablespoons ketchup (optional 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of bean water
Instructions

Soak beans overnight. Bring to a boil in same water and simmer until tender, about 1/2 hour or more (put a couple of beans on a spoon and blow on them, if skin peels back they are ready for cooking). Drain, reserving bean water. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place beans and salt pork in casserole or bean pot. (If you score the salt pork, put beans in pot first and lay the salt pork on top with rind down). Combine 1/2 cup bean water, brown sugar, mustard, onion, molasses, ketchup, garlic, maple syrup. Pour over beans, cover, and bake 6-9 hours or until beans are tender. If beans become dry add some of the reserved bean water. Uncover the last hour of cooking. If you have a stone bean pot it works the best but any dutch oven kettle will work. Serve with hot corn bread or if you are a Vermonter, it is called Johnny cake.

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The Old Farmer's Almanac Editors

We love introducing fun new recipes as well as time-tested recipes, straight from the archives! Read More from The Old Farmer's Almanac Editors
 

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Comments

Allyssa (not verified)

1 year 3 months ago

My goodness! So much sugar! That's about the same amount of sugar as beans! Isn't there a low sugar or no sugar recipe? Would just a dash of the maple syrup work?

I skip the maple syrup. You could skip the molasses and just use the maple syrup if you would prefer.

Dina (not verified)

2 years 11 months ago

So good, thank you for sharing your recipe!