Boston Baked Beans....Northwestern Ontario Style

I was sitting here the other morning thinking to myself, gee what can I make from scratch that I know Jackson loves and will enjoy muchly? Then it dawned on me. BAKED BEANS. That boy eats more canned beans than you can shake a stick at. So I went hunting online until I found a recipe and instructions that I thought best suited the style of beans we will both enjoy. They are currently getting awesome epic in the slow cooker. So here is the recipe I used along with the instructions. I also have pictures of the prepping process.

Slow Cooked Boston Baked Beans Recipe

• Cook time: 8 hours

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (2 to 2 1/4 cups) dry white beans such as Navy beans or Great Northern beans (can also use kidney beans)
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 cups hot water
• 1/2 pound salt pork (can sub bacon), cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, (1 1/2 cups) chopped

METHOD

1 Place beans in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Soak overnight and drain. Alternatively, bring a pot with the beans covered with 2 inches of water to a boil, remove from heat and let soak for a hour, then drain.

2 Mix the molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and ground cloves with 3 cups of hot water.


3 Line the bottom of a slow-cooker (or a Dutch oven if you are cooking in the oven) with half of the salt pork (pick the fattiest pieces). Layer over with half of the drained beans. Add all of the onions in a layer, then top with another layer of beans and the remaining salt pork. Pour the molasses water mixture over the beans to just cover the beans.

Everything set up and ready!!

 layering the bacon (thick cut)

second layer, the beans go in!

Third layer, the onions go in!!

Layers finished, bacon on top

Liquid is poured on top, yum!

4 Cover and cook in a slow-cooker on the low setting for 8 hours (or in a 250°F oven), until the beans are tender. Check the water level a few hours in, and if the beans need more water, add some. Add additional salt to taste if needed. Note that fresher beans will cook faster than older beans. Your beans may be ready in less than 8 hours, or they may take longer. Best the next day.

Serve with Boston brown bread.

Yield: Serves 5-6 as a main dish or 10-12 as a side.