Meaty Baked Beans
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 15, 2011
Time
3¾-4¾ hours, plus 12 hours soaking
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Begin checking for doneness after 2 hours of uncovered baking. If the sauce has thickened but the beans are not yet tender, add up to 1 1⁄2 cups of water and continue baking. You can use boneless smoked ham in place of boneless smoked pork shoulder.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, pork, and beans and bring to boil. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are just beginning to soften, about 1 hour.
- Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Bake, uncovered, until beans are completely tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 hours. Remove pork from pot and transfer to plate. When cool enough to handle, cut pork into bite-size pieces and return to pot; discard fat. Season with pepper. Serve. (Beans can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)
season beans
finish beans
Time
3¾-4¾ hours, plus 12 hours soakingYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For our Meaty Baked Beans recipe, tasters preferred pink beans over navy, pinto, or kidney beans for their luxuriously creamy interiors. Soaking the beans overnight greatly reduced the cooking time.
Boneless smoked pork shoulder added smoky flavor to the beans without falling apart in the long cooking process. For seasoning, we went with ketchup for tanginess, dark brown sugar for sweetness, and spicy brown mustard for a kick of heat.
Before You Begin
Begin checking for doneness after 2 hours of uncovered baking. If the sauce has thickened but the beans are not yet tender, add up to 1 1⁄2 cups of water and continue baking. You can use boneless smoked ham in place of boneless smoked pork shoulder.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, pork, and beans and bring to boil. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are just beginning to soften, about 1 hour.
- Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Bake, uncovered, until beans are completely tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 hours. Remove pork from pot and transfer to plate. When cool enough to handle, cut pork into bite-size pieces and return to pot; discard fat. Season with pepper. Serve. (Beans can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)
season beans
finish beans
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