'Porkless' Pork and Beans
Everyone in our family enjoys homemade ‘pork and beans’, but making these is a easy labor of love for one specific child of mine. These are terrific any time of the year and most especially in the winter. As they simmer all day in the oven, their delicious rich flavor eventually envelop our kitchen and house in their wonderful deep rich flavor! They are super enjoyed on the first night of baking but keep in mind they will thicken as they cool. As for the next day, they are just as good with eggs at breakfast, for lunch with some crusty bread or at dinner with a side salad.
The twist in this recipe is the ‘no pork/bacon’ used. Some of my family members and their friends try, as much as possible, to reduce the amount of meat in their diet. This recipe is great with 250gms of chopped up bacon added to the baking dish and just as great, maybe better, with no pork. In fact, the recipe photoed here has no bacon/pork/meat in it.
‘Porkless’ Pork and Beans
Special Note: This recipe begins the day before, with the beans soaking in a big pot overnight in cold tap water.
Ingredients:
2 cups navy beans
1/2 lb diced bacon (optional)
1 onion, finely diced
3 tbsp molasses
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2c ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4c firmly packed brown sugar
Instructions:
Night Before: Soak beans overnight in cold water.
Next Morning: Simmer the beans in the same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours.
Drain and save the water.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Gather all the ingredients together and dice the onion.
In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.
Bring mixture to a boil and set aside.
Arrange the beans in a 2 quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of the dish, and layering with onion and bacon (if using).
Pour the sauce over the mixture.
Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans (still Reserve the remainder of the bean water).
Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Bake for 3 - 4 hours in the preheated oven, removing the aluminum foil about halfway through, and stirring occasionally and adding more reserved bean water if necessary to prevent the beans from getting to dry.
They will thicken when they cool :).
Enjoy !!
