baked beans: navy beans, homemade berkshire bacon, onion, clove, bay leaf, stout, maple syrup, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, dijon.
- Cover a pound of dried navy beans in cool water and let them soak for 4 to 6 hours. Drain the beans, and then transfer them to a deep saucepan and cover with several inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then lower the heat and simmer for an hour, skimming the white foam off the top after 15 minutes. Drain the beans and reserve their liquor.
- Preheat your oven to 325˚F. Transfer beans to a roasting pan, and nestle the following among the beans: a half pound of good slab bacon (fat-side scored and oriented upwards), a large onion (cut into half-inch wedges) two cloves, and two bay leaves. In a bowl, whisk together a bottle of stout (I used Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout.), a half cup of grade B maple syrup, a quarter cup of ketchup, three tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, two teaspoons dry mustard, and a teaspoon of salt. Pour this liquid over the beans, and put the pan in the oven.
- After two hours, take the pan out and stir the beans around, exposing the pale ones underneath the browning crust. If the bacon is getting too dark, give it a flip. Put the pan back in the oven.
- After another hour stir another two cups of bean liquor and another teaspoon of salt into the beans. Stir the beans, and then put them back in the oven.
- After another hour and a half, whisk together the rest of the bean liquor (not to exceed two or three cups) with a teaspoon each of ketchup and dijon mustard. Pour this mixture over the beans and stir. Flip bacon if necessary, though you want to aim to get the fat side crispy at the end.
- Bake until the beans are a deep mahogany and the liquid has reduced to a sludge, about another hour. You can serve the beans with bacon chunk(s) intact for a nice effect, or teach and cut the bacon up for even distribution. In any case, this is a meal in itself.
