Maple Baked Beans

Recipes

If you’re a true New Englander, you’ve probably enjoyed baked beans at some point in your life. Usually served with franks (hotdogs) and brown bread, “Beans and Franks” was a classic Saturday night meal for many families.

Whether you enjoy it the traditional way for dinner or eat it by the spoonful mid-morning, there’s no denying the versatility and deliciousness of this dish. By substituting maple syrup and maple sugar for molasses and brown sugar you create a rich, robust flavor you’ll be reminiscing about for weeks after.  (Maybe that’s why people used to eat it every weekend. They just couldn’t get enough of it!)

 

Maple Baked Beans

 

Ingredients

  • 1 pounds dry red kidney beans
  • 1/2 pound salt pork

 

For sauce

  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup Meridan Hill maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup Meridan Hill maple sugar
  • 2 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 ½ cup reserved cooking liquid

 

Directions

  1. Wash and sort beans, soak overnight submerged in cold water (8-12 hours).
  2. In the morning, drain the beans and transfer to a large pot.
  3. Re-fill with water and par-boil beans until skins crack when blown upon (about 45 minutes).
  4. Remove from heat and rinse again, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.
  5. Score pork in 1/2-inch squares; do not separate. Fan out and place in bottom of bean pot.
  6. Mix the remaining ingredients with 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid and bring to a simmer (about 6 minutes).
  7. Transfer beans to a bean pot and stir in the sauce.
  8. Cover and bake at 300° for about six hours, checking regularly after three hours as cooking time varies. If beans are dry, add more of the reserved cooking liquid until at desired consistency.
  9. Serve hot with frankfurters and brown bread or enjoy alone!