Traditional Boston Baked Beans Recipe
Prep Time:
12 minutes
Cook Time:
6 hours, 30 minutes
Servings:
6 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound dry navy beans
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • ½ cup cooking molasses
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 pound salt pork
Directions
  1. Place the beans in a medium bowl and add cold water up to 2 inches above the top of the beans.
  2. Add the kosher salt and stir. Allow the beans to soak at least 12 hours overnight.
  3. Drain the beans and add them to a large pot.
  4. Add cold water to cover the beans by several inches.
  5. Bring the beans to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
  6. Drain the beans and reserve the bean water.
  7. Preheat the oven to 250 F.
  8. Whisk together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, mustard, and molasses.
  9. Layer the beans and onions in a bean pot or Dutch oven.
  10. Pour the molasses mixture over the beans.
  11. Ladle in the reserved bean water to just cover the beans.
  12. Top with the salt pork.
  13. Place the lid on the pot and put it in the oven. Bake for 5 to 6 hours until the beans are tender. Stir the beans a few times during the cooking process and add more reserved bean water if needed to prevent the beans drying out.
  14. Remove the lid from the pot and using tongs, break up the salt pork into smaller pieces.
  15. Ladle the beans into bowls and serve.