Worth Waiting for Baked Beans
Submitted by BogAl
Old-fashioned baked beans made from dried navy beans, slow-baked 7 hours with bacon, molasses, dark rum, and a surprise hit of curry powder. From-scratch comfort that earns every minute.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
7 hrsREADY
40 minSeven hours in the oven sounds like a lot, but that’s exactly what turns dried navy beans into something transcendent. These beans go in firm and come out creamy, rich, and saturated with a sauce that’s smoky, sweet, tangy, and just a little boozy from a generous pour of dark rum.
The flavor base is classic New England: molasses, brown sugar, bacon, and dry mustard. But then curry powder sneaks in and adds this warm, earthy undercurrent that you can’t quite put your finger on but makes you keep going back for more.
Uncooked bacon strips draped across the top render slowly as the beans bake, basting everything underneath. Stir in tomato juice whenever the liquid gets low, and let time do the rest.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak the beans in boiling water for a full hour before baking; it cuts down on total cooking time
- Rub the inside of the bean pot with crushed garlic before adding the beans for subtle background flavor
- Check and stir every hour or so, adding tomato juice as needed to keep the beans from drying out
- These taste even better the next day once all those flavors have had time to settle in together
Ingredients
Directions
Place beans in large pot of boiling water over high heat.
Return to boiling.
Turn off heat; let stand 1 hour.
Preheat oven to very slow (275F).
Grease 1 ¾ quart bean pot or casserole with the butter.
Rub with garlic.
Drain beans.
Place in large mixing bowl. Add onion, crumbled bacon, brown sugar, Worcestershire, molasses, chili sauce, dry mustard, curry powder, salt and rum.
Mix well. Stir in ¼ cup of the tomato juice. Transfer to prepared bean pot.
Place uncooked bacon strips on top. Bake, covered in a 275F oven for 7 hours or until beans are tender, gently stirring in additional tomato juice as liquid is absorbed by beans.
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