Baked Beans
My friend Ben asked me for my baked bean recipe the other day. I really couldn’t believe how selfish he was being, wanting to keep my recipe all to himself. I decided that I would not let him keep it to himself, but share it instead with all of you. Keep in mind the recipe is in my head, so I hope it works. If it doesn’t, blame Ben.
Ingredients
Navy beans- now I try to use canned navy beans (2 cans), because it saves hours of bean soaking. Some see this as cheating, but I think of it more as good time management.
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp of prepared mustard
1 large onion
1 cup of molasses (I like the molasses)
A several strips of bacon
1 tbsp of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to about 300°
Butter the inside of a casserole dish (ideally a bean crock would be used, but what can you do). Chop the onion and spread it around the bottom of the dish.
In a separate bowl mix the drained and rinsed beans, tomatoes (no need to drain), the mustard, salt, pepper and molasses. Mix it up good and proper. Don’t be lazy.
Gently pour the bean mixture over the onions in the casserole dish and spread evenly. Let the beans gently caress the onions before they make love in the oven. Then if you like you can cut the bacon in to about inch long pieces and place them on top of the beans.
The only thing left to do is bake them in the oven for about three hours. After the first hour or so check the bacon to see if it is somewhat crisp. If it is, give the beans a nice stir to mix the bacon in to the beans. It is important that the bacon doesn’t feel like an outsider the whole baking time. It will put up a really hard front but it will be crying on the inside if it isn’t included. Put the beans back in the oven and check them occasionally until they reach a consistency you like. Any remember to play with the quantities of the ingredients until they match your taste. I like more molasses and less mustard, but who the hell am I?
Enjoy.
