maple baked beans, mark's

How To Make maple baked beans, mark's

• Step 1
  Pick over the beans, cover generously with cold water, and set aside overnight. Slice into the onion, and insert the cloves into the onion. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Drain the beans and put half of them in your bean pot. Add the onion and bay leaf, then the rest of the beans. Add the maple syrup, then cover with cold water to come an inch above the beans, cover the pot, and put it in the oven. Once the beans are in the oven, cut the salt pork crosshatch at half-inch intervals, down to but not through the rind. Cover with cold water and set aside About an hour later, put a kettle on at the back of the stove so you'll have hot water when you need it. Check the beans from time to time and add a bit of hot water as necessary to keep the top layer just nicely submerged. In about 4 hours, stir in the salt and dry mustard. Gently stir in the seasonings. Drain the salt pork and push it into the top of the beans, skin side up. The pork skin should be just at the top of the liquid. Re-cover the pot, return it to the oven, and continue to cook as before. In about 4 more hours, start cutting back on liquid so the sauce thickens, but don't let the top layer of beans dry out. Remove the lid for the last hour of cooking so the pork skin crisps.
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