Americas Test Kitchen New England Baked Beans Recipes

NEW ENGLAND BAKED BEANS RECIPE - (3.8/5)

Steps:

• You'll get fewer blowouts if you soak the beans overnight, but if you're pressed for time, you can quick-salt-soak your beans. In step 1, combine the salt, water, and beans in a large Dutch oven and bring them to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let it stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans and proceed with the recipe. 1. Dissolve 1 1/2 tablespoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Add beans and let soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well. 2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine beans, salt pork, onion, molasses, sugar, soy sauce, mustard, pepper, bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 4 cups water in large Dutch oven. (Liquid should cover beans by about 1/2 inch. Add more water if necessary.) Bring to boil over high heat. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are softened and bean skins curl up and split when you blow on them, about 2 hours. (After 1 hour, stir beans and check amount of liquid. Liquid should just cover beans. Add water if necessary.) 3. Remove lid and continue to cook until beans are fully tender, browned, and slightly crusty on top, about 1 hour longer. (Liquid will reduce slightly below top layer of beans.) 4. Remove pot from oven, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Using wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scrape any browned bits from sides of pot and stir into beans. Discard onion and bay leaf. (Salt pork can be eaten, if desired.) Let beans stand, uncovered, until liquid has thickened slightly and clings to beans, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (Beans can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.) Baking Beans at High Altitude When testing our New England Baked Beans recipe, volunteer recipe testers living at high altitudes reported that they had a hard time getting the beans to cook through properly. This wasn't too surprising since water boils at a lower temperature at high elevations, which presents numerous challenges in cooking. This led us to make a version of the recipe using a pressure cooker (a pressure cooker is ideal for cooking at higher altitudes because the enclosed environment raises the boiling point of water). After a few tests, we were happy to discover that it worked well, with a few modifications. REDUCE WATER: You have to reduce the amount of water you add to the pot (2 1/2 cups rather than 4) since little is lost to evaporation during cooking. The beans aren't totally submerged when using this lesser amount, but in the sealed environs of a pressure cooker, it's not an issue. RELEASE PRESSURE NATURALLY: Because beans cook at a faster rate in a pressure cooker, we found that 35 minutes at high pressure followed by a 15-minute "natural release" (where you move the pot off the heat and let the pressure come down slowly on its own) delivered fully cooked, tender beans. STIR TO RELEASE STARCHES: The cooking liquid will look thin initially but will thicken after about 15 minutes; stir the beans several times during this time to draw out the starches and thicken the glaze. Note that many pressure cooker manufacturers suggest adjusting cooking times and liquid amounts based on how many feet above sea level you are cooking; consult your manual for instructions.

NEW ENGLAND BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Check the beans for any stones or dirt and discard. Put the beans in a large bowl; cover with cold water by about 3 inches. Cover, and set aside in a cool spot or the refrigerator to soak for 6 hours or overnight.
• Drain the beans. Put the beans in a large saucepan with 5 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so the beans simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Drain, but reserve the cooking water.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Put the beans in a 2 to 2 1/2-quart ceramic bean pot or covered casserole with the salt pork and the onion. In a medium bowl combine the molasses, mustard, and salt with 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour over the beans. (If the beans are not covered by the liquid add more.) Cover the pot, and bake for 3 hours. Check the beans periodically to make sure they are covered with liquid and if needed add more of the reserved cooking liquid. Gently stir in the tomatoes and vinegar, taking care not to break up the beans, continue to bake for 3 more hours. Remove from the oven and stir in the rum, if desired. Serve.