# Boston Baked Beans with Honey



## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

Well, heres one that is fairly quick to make, but it does call for using canned beans. 

http://www.kraftfoods.com/recipes/SaladsSideDishes/BeanSideDishes/BostonBakedBeans.html 

EDIT: 

For traditional all day cooking heres one using honey. These two call for soaking the beans in 4 cups warm for 3 hours then cooking in a covered saucepan for 1 1/4 hours. The salt pork goes on the bottom of the bean pot or baking dish then add the beans. Pour the rest of the ingredients over the beans and add water to cover. Cover the bean pot or baking dish and bake in a slow oven (325º) for about 6 hours. Uncover the dish during the last 1/2 to 1 hour of cooking. (if the beans become too dry add a little water from time to time) 


This one simply called Honey Baked Beans comes from a honey cook book:

2 cups dried beans
1/2 pound scored salt pork
1 Tablespoon onion, chopped
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard


This recipe called Boston Baked Beans (uses molasses, not honey) comes from an old time recipe book :

2 cups Navy Beans
2 Teaspoons salt
1 Cup boiling water
1/3 Pound salt pork, scalded
1/4 Cup molasses
3/4 Teaspoon mustard
1/2 Teaspoon chili powder

Looks as though the recipes are about the same with honey being substituted for molasses in the first. Another recipe at home calls for using 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.

bon appetit

[ October 14, 2006, 08:38 PM: Message edited by: Dick Allen ]


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

not that long ago I ventured up to boston to visit my nephew and when I enquired about the best place in boston to get boston baked beans everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I am sure it had to be my southern accent?

ps... add a can of rotel tomotes to make those boston baked bean really zing.


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>everyone looked at me like I was crazy

There's a place in the Old section of town near the North End that serves up so-called Boston Baked Beans as well as Boston Fish Chowder and Boston Creme Pie. I can't remember the name and I haven't been there in years.. like 40 of them. I'm sure it's still there.

It's hard to imagine baked beans without molasses in them, I'll have to try honey next time. My mom showed me how to make baked beans from scratch. I'm sure it's a more or less traditional baked bean recipe. Gotta use soldier beans of course. They ain't baked beans if they're not soldier beans.


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## Keith Benson (Feb 17, 2003)

I have my mothers BB recipe, basically yellow eyed beans, salt pork, mustard and sugar.

Maybe I will just do a substitution. I just didn't want to spend 6-9 hours cooking something that was blech.

I love the smell of slow baked beans on a cold fall day. MMMMMMMm

Soldier beans, Mmmm - we always use yellow eye beans.

If anyone has any other recipes, please post 'em. The mroe the merrier.

Keith

For folks that like pics: http://www.foodsubs.com/Beans.html

[ October 15, 2006, 08:12 AM: Message edited by: kgbenson ]


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>Soldier beans, Mmmm - we always use yellow eye beans.

As suitable a substitute as you're going to find.

>I just didn't want to spend 6-9 hours cooking something that was blech.

Can't be blech. You ever use molasses?


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## Keith Benson (Feb 17, 2003)

"As suitable a substitute as you're going to find."

Whew - I thought for a minute there we would have to take this over to the tailgater and get into it. People can be "cultish" about the beans they use - especially in NE.

"Can't be blech. You ever use molasses?"

Nope - that is why I was sniffing around for other recipes. My sainted mother's BB are very simple and I have not experimented with them.

I think I will try them with molasses and then again with honey.

Keith "how many moles does it take to fill a bottle of molasses?" Benson


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>People can be "cultish" about the beans they use - especially in NE.

True. People in Nebraska are picky about beans.  In fact they probably grew all the pinto, white, soldier, chick peas etc. you've bought in the store and eaten for the last fifty years.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

>I thought for a minute there we would have to take this over to the tailgater and get into it

I'm glad you didn't. There's enough flatulence there already.


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>In fact they probably grew all the pinto, white, soldier, chick peas etc. you've bought in the store and eaten for the last fifty years. 

With all due respect to Nebraska-grown beans, they sell Maine-grown beans around here. I doubt they ship them beyond the northeast though.

>My sainted mother's BB are very simple and I have not experimented with them.

Glad something is still sacred in this world today. That said, try some molasses. Here's my recipe, evolved over time and adapted to local conditions (All bean making is local):

2 cups Soldier (or Yellow Eye!) dry beans.

Right at the start it gets contentious! Opinions vary- some people soak them for 24 hours (or overnight), other people blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes until the skins crinkle. Neither is a substitute for a good long slow cook.

A couple of peeled onions, cut in 1/2 and quartered if they're large.

1 tablespoon of dried mustard.

1/2 teaspoon black pepper. No salt! Salting uncooked beans makes `em tough!

A goodly pinch of cayenne pepper.

1 1/2 cups or so black molasses. Or honey...

A goodly amount of salt pork.

My mom used to use a bean pot, in the oven, but that was back when we had a wood cook stove in the kitchen. I've only ever used a crock pot on medium heat. Anyways.. combine everything in the crock pot or bean pot, add enough water to cover, put on the lid, and cook until done- likely a good 8 hours regardless of how you do it, perhaps longer. Like lasagne and beef stew, they're better the next day.

Bean-hole suppers used to be popular, but folks don't do it much any more. Start with a *large* cast iron pot with lid and essentially the same ingredients as above. Dig a hole in the ground and line it with rocks large enough to accomodate the bean pot. Then you build a fire in the hole, lots of wood. When that was done and the rocks were good and hot, you dug out the coals and ashes, put in the bean pot, covered it up with the coals and ashes, then some dirt left over from digging the hole. Around mid-afternoon you could dig down a ways and put in some potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil and some unhusked ears of corn and cover them back up with the hot coals and dirt. Start in the morning. Done by evening. Often combined with a clam bake.

George-


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

">In fact they probably grew all the pinto, white, soldier, chick peas etc. you've bought in the store and eaten for the last fifty years." 

"With all due respect to Nebraska-grown beans, they sell Maine-grown beans around here. I doubt they ship them beyond the northeast though."


'Scuse me? With all due respect to both Nebraska and Maine, the best pinto beans come from New Mexico. Maybe not the most, but the best.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

coyote sezs:
'Scuse me? With all due respect to both Nebraska and Maine, the best pinto beans come from New Mexico. Maybe not the most, but the best.

tecumseh replies:
exactly correct... even joe malangro knew that.

and I must confess I have never heard of either yellow eyed or soldier beans... could that be navy beans?

and thanks for the direction to the tradional eating places (in boston) george. next time I am there I will check it out.

actually I told my wife that beans are an excellent measure of just how good a eatin' establishments cook really is.... anyone can grill a steak, but it takes a real cook to make a good pot of beans.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

>I have never heard of either yellow eyed or soldier beans... could that be navy beans?

me neither Tecumseh, but apparently google has. 

http://www.foodsubs.com/Beans.html

Scroll down until you come to European Soldier Beans. They are supposed to look like old-time European soldiers standing at attention. At the risk of incurring the wrath of bean purists, I will mention that the web site says navy beans or red eye beans can be used as a substitute.


I remember my mom making all day baked beans on the wood stove, too. Seems as though she used brown sugar.


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