How to Make Homemade Baked Beans

Grace’s Baked Beans

My mom – Grace - made the best baked beans around.  Originally her mom’s (my grandmother) recipe it is the only one I’ve ever known.   I have the original index card mom carefully typed for me more than four decades ago.

It happens to be one of those throw-back dishes that bring fond memories of family cookouts of the past to the present.   And being a traditional family summer side dish it has been handed down over the years.    My daughter has it too making her the fourth generation bean baker.

This is straight-up baked beans – nothing fancy – and a simple formula too.  If you like hearty, flavorful, old-fashioned, homemade baked beans follow this blueprint.  With a pot of these in your oven your kitchen is going to smell magnificent!

Serve with grilled burgers, hotdogs, chicken, brats, chops, steaks, roast pig, venison or make ahead for tailgating at the game.  Just heat them-up in a foil pan on the Weber.

Canned beans are survival food.

Ingredients

2 - Cups of Navy Beans

½ - Cup of chili sauce

1 – Tsp vinegar

1 – Medium onion (chopped)

2 – Cups of bean liquid

¼ - Pound of bacon (chopped) – omit for vegetarian beans

2 – Tsp salt

½ - Tsp dry mustard

½ - Cup molasses

Directions

Rinse and soak the beans overnight

Add bacon and enough additional water to submerge your beans and plenty to spare.  Cover and simmer over low heat until tender.  To know when they're ready spoon a few beans from the pot and blow on them.  If the skins split you are there.

Drain – being certain to save all of the bean liquid.  DO NOT rinse the cooked beans.

Pour the drained beans into a casserole, combine and add all of the remaining ingredients and stir.

going into the oven

Bake at 300 degrees , uncovered, for 6 hours.  Add more bean liquid or water as necessary.   

 halfway point - three hours

Oven temperatures vary so your baking time may be shorter or longer.  Low and slow is the secret so allow ample time for your beans to cook.

 

finished in a slow cooker

This recipe is easily expanded depending on the crowd at your BBQ.  Last weekend I made a triple recipe for a reunion of the cousins on mom’s side of the family.