Down-East Baked Beans
May 8, 2019
Ingredients
- 1 pound white beans dry pepper, and serve with brown bread if you like. ** Suggested white beans: Maine Yellow-Eye, Great Northern, Navy, or Cannellini.
- 1/4 pound salt pork
- diced
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 cup molasses
- full flavored
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Put beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a medium and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Step 2 Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid, then transfer beans to a 2-quart bean pot or Dutch oven.
- Step 3 Preheat oven to 250F.
- Step 4 Place salt pork in a small pot, add water to cover, then bring to a boil over high heat.
- Step 5 Drain pork and add to beans.
- Step 6 In a small bowl, dissolve mustard in 1 teaspoon warm water. Add dissolved mustard, molasses, and rum to beans.
- Step 7 Season with salt and pepper, and mix gently but thoroughly.
- Step 8 Heat reserved cooking liquid in a medium sauce-pan over medium heat. Pour enough of the liquid (about 3 cups) into bean pot so that beans are moist but not floating. Reserve remaining cooking liquid.
- Step 9 Cover pot and bake, checking occasionally to ensure that beans are not drying out, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed.
- Step 10 Cook until beans are soft, about 5 hours. Remove cover, gently stir beans, and return to oven.
- Step 11 Bake uncovered until cooking liquid thickens into a sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper