New England-Style Baked Beans
These traditional New Englander baked beans have a deeper history than the canned version, first baked in earthenware pots by Native Americans. They make the best beans on toast you'll ever have!
Before the advent of Heinz, baked beans were a true labour of love, requiring hours of slow baking in a low oven. With that, Heinz had their mandate to produce a canned version which saved home cooks hours of cooking and the rest became history, especially in the UK where beans reigned supreme. However, along the way a lot of flavour and nuance was lost from that traditional process, and the canned version of baked beans became a shadow of its original story. And it’s a very old story. Native Americans traditionally baked haricot beans in earthenware pots, often with maple syrup and fatty meat offcuts added for richness. Some home cooks in New England states today will still bake beans from scratch on a yearly basis, made in the oven or slow cooker, especially around the New Year. If you’re already inducted into the baked bean craze, these are dynamite on toast or a baked potato. For a busy cook, this will be a two day process, but it’s hands off. I’ll show you how to make them in the oven or in the slow cooker. There’s a considerable amount of waiting either way, but as I’m sure you know quite well, good things come to those who wait! Let’s go!
