Baked Beans

We use our crock pot to make the most delicious homemade Baked Beans.  It is always a hit at our house.  The Pork Hock adds rich flavor and you will have the most tender, fall apart meat to enjoy with your bowl of beans.  We’ve been making this recipe for years and it is inspired by the Baked Bean in the Fannie Farmer cookbook.

2 cups Navy or Great Northern beans
1 BBF Pork Hock
2 tsp dry mustard
5 T brown sugar or Maple Hollow Dark Maple Syrup
4 T molasses
2 med onions, sliced

Place beans in crock pot and add 6 cups water. Add dry mustard, sweetener, molasses and onions.  Turn crock pot on high, cover and begin cooking.  Meanwhile, roast the hock on a rack in a 350 degree oven until it begins to brown – 30 minutes approximately.  Add hock to crock pot and continue cooking until beans are just tender.  Look for skins on beans splitting as a sign they are ready. It is best to continue trying a bean after they are close so you don’t overcook them.  Depending on the age of the beans, you will be cooking the beans for 4-6 hours.

When beans are close to tender, the hock is likely also tender and showing signs of falling apart.  Remove the hock before it is completely falling off the bone so it is easier to pick.  Set on a platter, allow to cool and then separate the meat from the bones.  The meat can be chopped or shredded and added back to the bean pot.

Test broth and beans for seasoning and sweetness.  You may need salt, pepper and often we might add a little bit more molasses and/or sweetener at the end.  If the broth is too thin, ladle off some of the liquid and set aside.  You may want more added later as the beans tend to thicken as they cool.

Note: We do not presoak our beans. The crock pot does an excellent job of cooking the beans without soaking.