Baked Beans ~ Perfect 4th Fare!

I’ve hardly met a bean I don't like ~ these old-fashioned beans are my favorite!

I posted this recipe not long after this blog started, and thought it deserved to be repeated.   I have no idea of the origin of the original recipe; it was tweaked way back when, and I’ve been making it for many years.  It always serves us well.  Bill and Bubba swear I make the best-baked beans in the world, and I concur.    ☺

Bubba, 1971, almost 3!

Unlike the usual baked bean recipes, these beans do not need to soak overnight.  Simply use store-brand canned pork and beans (I toss the pork part) and let all the ingredients in the recipe do the flavoring.  

Don’t be afraid of the molasses, baked beans aren’t baked beans without it!  Dry mustard and vinegar provide a little kick and brown sugar sweetens it all up; chopped onions are a must, and crisp-fried bacon, just because…

Stir it up...

Mom's trusty old bean pot still in use today

This is truly our absolute favorite baked beans ~ I’ve been making this recipe many more years than I care to admit!

These baked beans go with about anything, and should you have a slice of cornbread slathered with butter to join it; you’re the lucky one.

Perfect 4^th of July fare, it will be on our table that day for sure! 

Baked Beans, My Way
Printable recipe

Ingredients: 
½ pound bacon
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ cup molasses
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 (16-ounce) cans pork and beans

Method: 
Fry bacon crisp, crumble and set aside.
Pour beans into a large bowl.
Add half of the bacon.
Add the remaining ingredients, one by one, stirring well after each addition.
Pour into a bean pot or casserole dish.
Top with remainder of bacon.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 3 hours. It will be thickened and bubbly.
Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

By the way, I don’t know about where you are, but we had downpours and high winds; severe storms, off and on this morning from 12:30 a.m. through 4:00 a.m., with a tornado warning and a funnel cloud touching down in the next town.  Luckily, very little damage, but it made for a sleepless night! 

More severe weather predicted for this afternoon…

Baked Beans, My Way

 

Bubba, 1971, almost 3 years old

I haven’t met a bean I didn’t like!  Baked beans is everyday food for every man, woman and child and depending upon where you are from, there are probably as many versions as there are people. 

Way down Texas way, they are “cowboy beans” with ground beef and plenty of ketchup.  In the Boston area, they are sweetened with molasses, while in New England they are loaded with maple syrup.  Down south, pork is the star in a baked bean dish, out Washington way:  they add bacon and apples to their baked beans.  I have no idea where my mine fit in, maybe a little of all; I just know they are delicious and so does Bubba (Bill, Jr.!)  They are his favorite and mine also. 

This baked bean dish is filled with lots of crumbled bacon, and a sauce of brown sugar, molasses and vinegar with a little dry mustard for a tang.  They are not spicy and not overly sweet, they just have a pleasant taste.  I used to make baked beans with a recipe that required soaking the beans over-night.  It was good but, this is so much easier using the canned beans; no one would know the difference!  They are delicious!

Mom's old bean pot

Baked Beans

Ingredients:

½ pound bacon, fried and crumbled

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ cup molasses

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 medium onion, chopped

4 (16-oounce) cans pork and beans

Method:

Fry bacon and reserve 2 tablespoons drippings

Pour beans into a large bowl.

Add ½ of the crumbled bacon and the bacon drippings.

Add the remaining ingredients, one by one, stirring well after each addition.

Pour into a bean pot or casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours or until done.  It will be thickened and bubbly.

Yummy!

Now, tell me!  What do you think makes the perfect baked bean dish?  How do you or someone in your family, or a friend make them?  I would love to hear!