Serves: 6
A New England staple, made differently in each home, these beans are both sweet and smoky and are a wonderful addition to a summer picnic. Serve alongside green or potato salad and some barbecue and you’ve got it made.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Jacob’s Cattle Beans
- ½ pound bacon
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp mustard (Dijon or other favorite)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- Chipolte pepper, to taste
Farmers To You Ingredients:
- Jacob’s Cattle Beans, bacon, maple syrup, cider vinegar
Other Fresh or Pantry Ingredients:
- onion, brown sugar, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper and chipolte to taste.
Instructions
- Cover beans with cold water and soak for 3 – 4 hours. (Note: Farmers To You Jacob’s Cattle Beans are fresh and don’t need the long soaking of store bought beans.) Drain and rinse. Place in pot with 6 cups of water. Boil for 5 minutes and then reduce heat, cooking for another 30 or more minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.
- While beans are cooking, peel and chop 1 onion. Set aside.
- In a heavy fry pan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
- Cook the diced onions until limp in several tablespoons of bacon grease. Remove from heat. Stir in the maple syrup, brown sugar, tomato paste, mustard, soy sauce, pepper and vinegar. Next add half a cup of the reserved water from cooking the beans. Mix all together and add to the beans.
- Place bean mixture in a slow cooker or lidded casserole pan. Cook on high in a slow cooker or at 300 degrees in the oven for a minimum of 4 hours, longer depending on how you like your beans.
Note:
- Add the remainder of the cooking liquid during the cooking process for extra moisture, if needed.)