2 ¼ c dry navy beans
1 ½ quarts water
1 t. salt
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 t. dry mustard
¼ c molasses
½ lb salt pork, cut in chunks
1 small onion, chopped
Wash beans in cold water and then soak in cold, clean water for at least one hour. (or over night)
Drain water. Add 1 ½ quarts cold water to beans and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Skim off foam and lower heat. Simmer about 45 minutes or until bean splits when blown on.
Drain, but save water. Mix ingredients and pour into bean pot. Add enough of the saved water to cover.
Bake at 325 for 6 hours. Add water as needed but not after last hour of baking time. (Beans should be covered with liquid. Do not let them dry out).
Serve with a nice hot baked Idaho Russet potato. See below.
Tips:
1. Do not…I repeat, DO NOT wrap a beautiful russet potato in foil to bake it. This makes a steamed potato. Wash it, stab it a couple times with a fork so steam can release, and set directly on the rack in the oven. Bake at 400 for 1 hour, depending on the size of the spud. Squeeze it to check for doneness. If it resists, give it more time. Or you can cook it at 350 or 375 for a longer time, maybe an hour and a half. You may also smear a thin layer of shortening on the skin before cooking, for a crispy skin. Real Idahoan's eat the skin when they are done with the flaky meat inside.
2. Grandma Roy always wrapped foil round the lid of her bean pot, gathering it at the top so it is easy to lift off to check the beans during the cooking process. I do the same. Place beans on a cookie sheet while cooking to catch overflow.
Baked beans are really good for you. They are high in protein and low in fat. And inexpensive. This is Dave's Gramma Roy's recipe. Every respectable midwestern house has a bean pot. When Dave's parents got married Gramma and Grandpa Roy gave them two fifty pound sacks of Navy beans as a wedding gift.
