Boston Baked Beans

I am really excited because I was asked to guest judge for a cooking competition that is being held tomorrow at 12:30. The cooking competition is hosted by Emerald Water Anglers and it features several fishing guides that are not only accomplished catch-and-release fisherman, but also great cooks. This is the first cooking related competition I have been asked to judge so I am honored to participate. It doesn't hurt that I get to sit at a park in beautiful weather while eating gourmet food. I will write about the competition in great detail in next week's entries but for now, I will talk about a baked bean recipe I prepared to take to the competition as a side dish.

It is no lie that I love a good baked bean. I have always wanted to own a clay bean pot so when I ran into the ideal pot at an antique store on Memorial Day weekend, I jumped on it. It is the typical clay bean pot in which the bottom portion is raw clay and the top portion and lid are glazed clay. I knew upon making my purchase that I was going to prepare Boston Baked Beans for one of my recipes this week. There are so many great baked bean recipes out there, that I finally had to choose just one. I prefer my beans smokey and sweet so I was hoping that this recipe accomplished both or at least one of these criteria. I will share the recipe with you before I provide further comment.

Ingredients:

2 cups dry white beans

1/2 pound bacon

1 onion, finely diced

3 TBSP molasses

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup ketchup

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer beans in same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve liquid. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange beans in 2-quart bean pot or casserole dish by placing a portion of beans in bottom of dish and layering with bacon and onion.

In saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough reserve bean water to cover beans. Cover with aluminum foil or lid and bake for 3 to 4 hours, until beans are tender. Remove lid about halfway through cooking and add more reserve liquid if necessary to keep beans from getting dry.

First of all, I can't describe how fantastic these beans smell while baking. The house smells wonderful! Second, they are quite delicious. I wouldn't say that the flavor is necessarily smokey, as I initially mentioned I would prefer them to be, but I will say that the beans are the perfect combination of sweet and savory. I am anticipating that people at the cooking competition will enjoy the beans as well. I will cross my fingers and let you know how it goes.