Nana's Boston Baked Beans

Inspired by...Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, I made baked beans with my grandmother's recipe.  I found her hand-written recipe while helping my parents pack up their house recently and have just been waiting for an excuse to make them.  What better occasion to honor her memory and make some good cook-out food than Memorial Day weekend?

​My grandmother was probably the kindest and most giving person that there ever was.  Of course I'm biased, but if you had met her, you would probably agree.  She also had a great sense of humor.  That's part of the reason why it's like hitting the jackpot when you find something in her writing.  It always seems to give a little glimpse into her personality.  And that's just one reason why I am so excited to have found this recipe.  "Too much, right?"

I don't remember the last time that I had Nana's baked beans,  But it's funny how just the smell of them cooking could bring me back to cook-outs in Boston and  summer evenings in Maine.  I'm sure that this batch didn't turn out as well as Nana's did, but they sure brought back some happy memories!

Nana's baked beans cooking in Nana's CrockPot!

These beans are pretty easy to make, but they definitely take some time.  Nana started with dry beans which had to be cooked to soften, and then she cooked the whole batch of yumminess in a crockpot for 10-12 hours.  And I have to say, I think that's still the best way to do it! 

​I did experiment with a short-cut by making a batch using canned beans.  The recipe calls for Navy beans, which I couldn't seem to find in canned form.  I got what looked like the most similar beans, which were called "Small White Beans."  This batch turned out just fine and was definitely tasty.  But they are definitely not as flavorful as the batch made from the dry beans.  So it's an option to skip ahead to canned beans, but just know that they won't be quite as tasty as starting from the dry beans!

The batch from the dry beans is on the left. Doesn't it look like they soaked up the molasses and all the goodness so much more than the canned??

​Luckily, a lot of the cooking time happens either in the crockpot or just in a pot on a stove that is mostly turned off.  So if you plan ahead, it shouldn't take too much of your real time/attention.  I cooked the dry beans in the morning and then stored them in the fridge until I was ready to throw everything in the crockpot late that night.

Here's how I imagine my grandmother's expression at the 'short-cut' version. I remember her cracking up at this "Saturday Evening Post" cover picture from 1955. We found a bunch of covers like this in a country store up in Vermont after one of my cousin's weddings years ago. Oh, memories.

​The only other thing that I found intimidating about this recipe was the "salt pork" that it called for.  Apparently it's easy to find in the grocery store - it was near the bacon in my store.  And if you look it up online, salt pork is actually a staple in Boston Baked Beans!  I found some recipes for the beans that said you can substitute it with bacon, but I figured if salt pork is known for being in the baked beans, then I should stick with it.

​The salt pork that I bought had a thick skin on it.  Since it was my first and only time buying this kind of meat, I don't know if that's the norm.  But I did a little internet search to find out if I should remove it or not, and the sites that I looked at said that it should be removed.  So that's what my recipe says.

I think Nana would have enjoyed these Baked Beans just like she enjoyed parties with her family :)

Recipe

Ingredients

• ​16 ounces dry Navy Beans (alternatively, see note below to substitute canned beans)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 cup ketchup
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  
• 2 tablespoons dark molasses
  
• 1 tablespoon salt
  
• 1/2 pound salt pork, skinned and diced
  
• pinch of cloves (optional; not in original recipe)
  

Directions

1. Rinse dry beans in a colander.
   
2. ​​Add dry beans to 7.5 cups of unsalted water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Then cover and allow to stand for about 1.5 hours, until softened.  Then drain the beans.
3. Note: To substitute canned beans, skip Step 2 and jump ahead to Step 3 using 6 cups of canned navy beans or small white beans, rinsed (about four 15.5 ounce cans).  It is a lot of beans, but the dry beans expand to 6 cups after softening,
   
4. Mix onions, ketchup, brown sugar, water, mustard, molasses, salt and cloves together in a medium bowl.
   
5. Add beans, sauce, and salt pork to a crockpot.  Mix well.
   
6. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.
   
7. Enjoy!