Mary Jo’s Boston Baked Beans
THE very best baked beans you’ll ever taste and such a joy to tuck into on a chilly day.
SERVES
8
PEOPLE
Ingredients
225g haricot or other small white beans
1 clove garlic
¼ tbsp olive oil
110-150g streaky bacon, smoked if possible and diced into 1cm pieces
1 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
25g dark brown sugar
¾ tbsp molasses OR 2 teaspoons of treacle
¾ tbsp cider vinegar
pinch cayenne
1 tsp dry mustard
110g tomato purée (blitzed tinned tomatoes may be used if you don’t have tomato purée in your freezer)
salt
Method
Wash and soak the beans overnight. Drain and discard the soaking water, place in a saucepan or pressure cooker with fresh water, add the garlic and olive oil. Cook until almost tender, 10-15 minutes. Reserve the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, gently sauté the bacon; add the onion, garlic and sauté until tender.
Combine the bacon, onion, garlic, brown sugar, molasses or treacle, cider vinegar, cayenne, mustard and tomato purée plus salt. This should be a soupy mixture. Place all in a deep baking dish. Cover and slowly cook in the oven at 150°C/Gas Mark 2 for 3-4 hours. Uncover for the final hour. (Mark sure the beans are meltingly tender before removing the cover).
