Winter has arrived, much to our relief – we fret about winter but if it does not show up it is cause for worry. So I am thinking about hearty, cold-weather food. I made real pork and beans this week – cooked the beans, roasted the pork and made my barbeque sauce recipe on page 68 in my cookbook.
Now, to make this recipe you don’t have to cook the beans yourself; canned beans will work just fine, just be sure to rinse well with cold water then drain them. If you do cook the beans from raw, add a little salt while cooking. Most canned beans are salted and the barbeque sauce has salt as well so when all is mixed you can taste it before you bake it.
When I cook the beans, I find you have to cook them almost to the splitting stage otherwise they still have a bit of crunch. And they don’t seem to soften after they are baking in the tomato sauce. I could be wrong about that, but it happened to me twice! Any combination of beans will work in this recipe – black, navy or kidney beans.
Real Pork and Beans
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 2/3 cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 4 cups cooked beans
- 2 Tbsp. cooking molasses
- 1 cup barbeque sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 – 10oz. beef broth
- 2-1/2 cups cooked pork, chopped
Melt butter in a large skillet or saucepan.
Add onion and celery, stir-fry a few minutes until softened.
Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine.
Check seasoning, add salt or pepper as needed.
Mixture will be soupy but it will thicken as it bakes.
Pour into greased casserole dish. Cover tightly.
Bake for 3-4 hours at 300º F.
Instead of baking this in an oven, you could do it in a slow cooker on low heat for about eight hours.
