Almost Boston Baked Beans

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried pea beans (other beans may be substituted but increase cooking time)
• 4 ounces bacon, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 4 -5 cups water (start with 4)
• 2 tablespoons molasses (not blackstrap)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons chili sauce, such as heinz (or ketchup)
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• black pepper, freshly ground to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Recipe

• 1 wash and pick through the beans.
• 2 place in a large pot, cover with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. boil hard for 2 minutes, remove from heat and let sit covered for 1 hour.
• 3 drain in a colander and rinse and dry pot to use again.
• 4 heat pot over medium heat and add bacon, cooking to almost crisp. you may remove most of the rendered fat but i like to leave it in for the flavour.
• 5 add onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute a couple more minutes until both are softening but not brown.
• 6 add 4 cups of the water, the molasses, syrup, chile sauce, mustard, worcestershire and pepper. bring to a boil.
• 7 important: do not add any salt or the vinegar. these must be added at the very end or the beans may not soften.
• 8 add drained beans, bring to a boil again and then place in a large casserole dish or roaster and cover.
• 9 bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees. check after 2 hours for doneness and for liquid level, then every half hour after that. if beans are not done but liquid is almost gone add a small amount of water. don't add too much especially toward the end.
• 10 when beans are very soft carefully stir in the vinegar and salt to taste. let rest 20 minutes before serving.
• 11 i like to transfer these to a crockpot when they are almost all soft and keep on low for a few hours, checking now and then.