Old Fashioned Baked Beans
Confession – I’ve never made baked beans from scratch before. We don’t eat them very often and at $.96 a can – why bother, right?
But on my quest to try various recipes from the food rationing era of WWII, I came across an old fashioned baked bean recipe, that I just had to try.
Now that I’ve made them, I know why we should bother – TASTE, FLAVOR, TEXTURE. You simply cannot get the flavor of homemade, old- fashioned baked beans in a $.96 can, probably not even in a $5.00 can o beans!
My test recipe came from Economy Recipes for Canada’s “Housoldiers” (Toronto: Canada Starch, 1943) found at www.wartimecanada.ca. As usual, I made a few variations based on what I had on hand at home. Instead of Corn Syrup, I used Maple Syrup; instead of dried navy beans, I used dried pinto beans; instead of salt pork, I used regular breakfast bacon. The end result was supremely delicious. Why wouldn’t it be – it’s beans, bacon and maple syrup!
Old Fashioned Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried beans navy, pinto or lima
- 2 oz salt pork or 4 pieces bacon
- 1 small onion peeled
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 cup Crown Brand Corn Syrup or maple syrup
- 1 cup liquid from boiled beans add water to make 1 cup if not enough
Instructions
- Wash beans thoroughly and soak overnight in cold water to cover generously.
- In the morning, simmer beans in the same water (add more if necessary) for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain beans, reserving liquid.
- Place beans in a greased 2 quart casserole; bury the onion in the beans.
- Mix salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, syrup and bean liquor (reserved bean water) and pour over beans.
- If necessary, add more water until it shows through top of beans.
- Place strips of salt pork or bacon over top.
- Cover and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 3 to 4 hours until beans are tender. Check hourly, adding more water if needed to prevent beans from baking dry.
- Uncover beans during last hour of baking to brown the beans and the pork.
Notes
Yield 6- 8 servings
Here’s a photo journey of the process beginning with soaking the beans (I used pinto beans).
Go ahead and make ’em. I know you’re going to love them.
Thanks to the Canadian Home Economics Foundation for its support in helping me test and share these recipes.
Getty Stewart is an engaging speaker and writer providing tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas to make home cooking easy and enjoyable. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.