Boston Baked Beans
White beans slow-baked in the oven with salt pork and molasses until tender, dark, and sweet-savory. A dish that keeps and reheats — Puritan economy and foresight.
White beans slow-baked in the oven with salt pork and molasses until tender, dark, and sweet-savory. A dish that keeps and reheats — Puritan economy and foresight.
On Saturday, early in the morning, I would soak the beans, then put them in the oven for the whole day, with a good piece of salt pork and molasses enough. They were left there, patient, while the house prepared for the Lord's Day, for no one was to cook on Sunday. When I returned from the observatory with fingers numb with cold, this dark, sweet dish seemed the sweetest comfort Providence could offer a weary woman.
- •Navy beans — a pint, soaked overnight (base)
- •Salt pork — a good piece (fat and umami)
- •Molasses — half a cup (signature sweetener)
- •Onion — one, whole (aromatic)
- •Dry mustard and salt — to taste (seasoning)
Boston Baked Beans
White beans slow-baked in the oven with salt pork and molasses until tender, dark, and sweet-savory. A dish that keeps and reheats — Puritan economy and foresight.
Why this dish? The Sunday dish of Protestant homes in Boston and Cambridge: they were cooked on Saturday to observe the Sabbath rest. Leavitt, a pious daughter of Congregationalist New England, grew up with this weekly ritual.
On Saturday, early in the morning, I would soak the beans, then put them in the oven for the whole day, with a good piece of salt pork and molasses enough. They were left there, patient, while the house prepared for the Lord's Day, for no one was to cook on Sunday. When I returned from the observatory with fingers numb with cold, this dark, sweet dish seemed the sweetest comfort Providence could offer a weary woman.
Ingredients (period version)
- Navy beans — a pint, soaked overnight (base)
- Salt pork — a good piece (fat and umami)
- Molasses — half a cup (signature sweetener)
- Onion — one, whole (aromatic)
- Dry mustard and salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Dried white beans (navy or cannellini) — 500 g, soaked 12 h (base)
- Salt pork or smoked bacon lardons — 200 g (fat and umami)
- Molasses — 120 ml (signature sweetener)
- Onion — 1, studded with 2 cloves (aromatic)
- Mustard powder — 1 tsp (seasoning)
- Salt and pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Soak the beans overnight, then blanch them for 20 minutes in simmering water and drain, reserving the cooking water.
- In a clay or cast-iron pot, place the onion at the bottom, add the beans, and bury the salt pork in the center.
- Dissolve the molasses and mustard in a little hot cooking water, pour over the beans, and add enough water to cover.
- Cover and bake at 140 °C for 5 to 6 hours, adding a little cooking water if it dries out.
- Uncover for the last hour to caramelize the top. Salt only at the end of cooking.
How it was made : A bulging earthenware pot, the "bean pot," was used, buried for hours in the embers of the communal stove or taken to the baker's oven. Molasses replaced sugar, and salt was added only at the end because it hardens the bean skins.
The contemporary twist : Serve on a slice of toasted rye bread with a poached egg: the "bean breakfast" revisited from Boston cafés.
Sources : Fannie Farmer, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896 · Lydia Maria Child, The American Frugal Housewife, 1832
Henrietta Leavitt · Charactorium
