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Baked Beans

Posted on 08/24/2010 by Maura

It’s almost Labor day!  For most of us, that means cooking out with friends and family!  As much as I love grilling and eating yummy food, before I cooked I never knew what to bring and would often resort to picking up something pre-made from the grocery.  No fun.  After stressing myself out over this several times, I have come to the conclusion bringing a side dish is the way to go.  First off, I often love sides more than the main course (mashed potatoes!) and secondly, someone is bound to like what you’ve made and picky eaters can skip over it.  Much less stressful than bringing a main course!

Baked beans are one of those sides that screams cook outs.  While they aren’t my favorite thing to eat, they definitely have their place, usually on a plate next to a hot dog.  I spent a lot of time coming up with this recipe because I wanted the beans to taste rich and have a real depth of flavor.  That is definitely what I got!  These were delicious.  I cooked mine for a total of about 11 hours because I quickly soaked the beans, but the directions below reflect a shorter cook time but a longer soaking time, which I think is the way to go.

Enjoy these!

Baked Beans

Recipe by Maura Dieringer

Ingredients

2 cups navy beans

1 pound double-thick cut bacon

1 sweet onion, like Vidalia, diced

3 tablespoons Molasses

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/2 cup ketchup

1 (12 oz.) bottle chili sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

Soak the navy beans in seven cups of water over night.  Drain the beans in a colander over a bowl to reserve the water.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Place beans in the bottom of a large casserole dish and cover with strips of bacon and onion.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, chili sauce, Worcestershire and brown sugar to a boil, whisking constantly.  Pour over beans, bacon and onion.  Pour the reserved water to almost the top of the dish and place in the oven for about four-six hours.  Check constantly to see if the beans are getting dry, and if so add more of the reserved water.  The beans are done when they are tender.

Enjoy!

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Side Dishes. Bookmark the permalink. ← Nectarine and Mascarpone Tart in Gingersnap Crust Grilled Tuscan Lemon Chicken →