Bean Porridge — Bean and Salt Pork Pot for Lean Days
A thick, comforting pot of melting beans, flavored with a piece of salt pork and softened with a hint of molasses. The dish of simple days, that sticks to the ribs.
A thick, comforting pot of melting beans, flavored with a piece of salt pork and softened with a hint of molasses. The dish of simple days, that sticks to the ribs.
When the purse is flat — and mine often was, believe me — a pot of beans with salt pork is worth all feasts. You soak your beans the night before, throw in a piece of salt pork, and let it simmer all day while you write. A finger of molasses to round it off, and you are fed for two pennies. I weathered many a winter in Washington on such a bowl, and my pen was none the worse for it.
- •Dried beans — a good measure (base)
- •Salt pork — a piece (fat and flavor)
- •Onion — one (aromatic)
- •Molasses — a spoonful (roundness)
- •Salt and pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Bean Porridge — Bean and Salt Pork Pot for Lean Days
A thick, comforting pot of melting beans, flavored with a piece of salt pork and softened with a hint of molasses. The dish of simple days, that sticks to the ribs.
Why this dish? Anne Royall lived on meager income; her diet was frugal, consisting of bread, vegetables, and a little meat when she could afford it. Bean porridge with salt pork, economical and nourishing, simmered in all modest kitchens of the young Republic and perfectly suited her penurious daily life.
When the purse is flat — and mine often was, believe me — a pot of beans with salt pork is worth all feasts. You soak your beans the night before, throw in a piece of salt pork, and let it simmer all day while you write. A finger of molasses to round it off, and you are fed for two pennies. I weathered many a winter in Washington on such a bowl, and my pen was none the worse for it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried beans — a good measure (base)
- Salt pork — a piece (fat and flavor)
- Onion — one (aromatic)
- Molasses — a spoonful (roundness)
- Salt and pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Dried white beans — 300 g (soaked overnight) (base)
- Salt pork or smoked belly — 150 g (fat and flavor)
- Onion — 1 large, sliced (aromatic)
- Molasses — 1 tbsp (roundness)
- Bay leaf — 1 (aroma)
- Salt and pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Drain the soaked beans and place them in a pot with cold water to cover.
- Add the pork cut into pieces, sliced onion, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a simmer and skim.
- Cover and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the beans are very tender; add water if needed.
- Stir in the molasses at the end, season cautiously with salt (the pork is already salty), and pepper.
- Mash roughly some of the beans to thicken, and serve piping hot in a bowl with a johnny cake.
How it was made : 'Bean porridge' was a staple of modest New England and working-class cuisine. It was cooked long and slow, and the nursery rhyme 'bean porridge hot, bean porridge cold' recalls that it was kept and reheated over several days. Salt pork and molasses — cheap, long-lasting provisions — were its pillars.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh herbs, like a 'pocket cassoulet' — comfort food before its time.
Sources : Lydia Maria Child, The American Frugal Housewife (1829) · Mary Randolph, The Virginia Housewife (1824)
Anne Royall · Charactorium
