My grandmother has volunteered at Canterbury Shaker Village since before I was born. I grew up hearing about the Shakers, and was always fascinated by their way of life. I especially love their simple, yet delicious food. This bean recipe takes time, but is worth it. A bowl of baked beans, topped with a fried egg and a sprinkle of cheese is one of my favorite comfort dishes. The recipe makes a lot of beans, but you can freeze them. I soak, boil, and cook my beans all in the same pot. You just need a large pot with a lid that can go in the oven. There is no need to buy a special bean pot.
Shaker Baked Beans
From The Best of Shaker Cooking
serves 10-12
Ingredients:
- 4 cups navy beans
- 2 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- apple cider (optional)
Directions:
- Rinse the beans, and discard any broken beans or rocks. Soak the beans in water overnight.
- Drain and cook the beans in fresh water until tender, about 30 minutes. They should be covered by about 1 inch of water. Drain beans and save liquid.
- Peel onion and place in bottom of bean pot. Pour beans into bean pot.
- Add molasses, butter, salt, dry mustard, and ketchup to bean liquid and pour over beans.
- Cover pot and cook in and oven at 250 degrees for about 3 hours. Add more water or apple cider whenever necessary. You don’t want them to be too dried out. I usually check it after an hour, then once every half hour.
- Remove cover for last half hour and brown well.