Ingredients
1 lb. white navy beans
Kosher salt
8 oz. salt pork, cut into 2-inch pieces (or 8-oz. thick-cut bacon, sliced)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. molasses
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
Preparation
Step 1The night before you plan to bake your beans, place beans in a large bowl and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Stir in 2 tablespoons kosher salt and let soak overnight, around 12 hours.Step 2Preheat oven to 300° and drain beans. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add beans and cover with 4 cups of water or enough water to completely cover beans. Add salt pork, onion, garlic, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, pepper, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Step 3Cover dutch oven and place on middle rack of oven and cook until beans are very tender and approaching a caramel brown color, about 3 to 3 ½ hours. Check beans every hour and add water if beans are no longer submerged.Step 4Remove any large pieces of garlic or onion from beans, if desired. Return beans, uncovered, to oven and bake until pork begins to caramelize and beans have a slight crust and a brick red tint, about 1 hour more. Step 5Remove pot from the oven and allow beans to sit uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Sauce will thicken slightly. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.
A couple of tips: We tried the beans with salt pork and with bacon and have concluded that if you can find it, opt to go with the more traditional salt pork. The smokiness of the bacon can at times overpower the beans, and we loved having the big hunks of caramelized salt pork nestled into our beans. If bacon is all you can find go with the thickest cut available. It will be similar to our Classic Baked Beans, which also uses canned beans to save on some time. Although soy sauce and fish sauce may seem out of place, we thought it added that extra bit of umami that can really take a dish over the edge.
Tried these? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
