Pork and Beans

Baked beans made with molasses and salt pork

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1886

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One of the definitions for a saloon is a place that serves food and drink, but makes most of its money from drink. This certainly was the case in the Old West, where a lot of saloons served a free lunch as long as you bought a drink. Just because it was free, didn’t mean it was low quality food. In fact, many saloons, especially those in larger cities with more competition, served fancier and fancier meals to draw in patrons.

These beans aren’t the French cuisine that some saloons served, but they are delicious. Even without the onions and spices that some recipes used, they’re so flavorful and much better than canned versions.

“Baked Pork and Beans.
Wash and pick over a large heaping cupful of navy beans and steep them in water over night. Put them on next morning with fresh water to more than cover, and baking soda the size of a bean and let boil about an hour. Then carry them to the sink, pour all into a colander letting the water run away and put back into the saucepan with cold water enough to come up to a level. Boil again and in a few minutes they will be soft. Season with a little salt and tablespoon of molasses. Put them into four pint bowls or tin pans, lay an ounce slice of salt pork on each and bake half an hour.”

— Cooking for Profit by Jessup Whitehead, 1886

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup (175 g) dried navy beans
• 4 ounces (113 g) salt pork or bacon
• Pinch of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon molasses

Instructions:

1. If you’re using salt pork, you’ll want to rinse it to get rid of some of the salt because it’s really, really salty. Cover it with water and let it sit for about an hour, then dump the water out and cover it with new water for another hour, then dump the water out. This is best done the day before you cook your beans.
2. In a bowl or pot, cover the beans with water and let them sit overnight.
3. If there’s any soaking water left in the beans the next day, dump it out. Put the beans in a pot and sprinkle the baking soda over them. Add just enough fresh water to cover the beans, plus about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm).
4. Score the fatty side of the piece of salt pork with a few shallow cuts, then slice it into 4 equal pieces.
5. Add the salt pork or bacon to the pot of beans and bring it to a boil, then cover with a lid and let them cook for 1 hour. Every once in a while, take the lid off and skim off any scum that has accumulated on the surface.
6. After the beans have cooked for 1 hour, strain the water out, then return the beans and salt pork to the pot. Add cold water just until it’s level with the beans, then bring it back to a boil and cook until they're nice and soft, about 10 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
8. Once the beans are soft, remove the pork and stir the salt and molasses into the beans.
9. Put the beans into four baking vessels if you wish, but I just used one metal pie pan. Arrange the salt pork on top of the beans. Bake for about 30 minutes if using one larger dish. If you use four smaller dishes, it may take a little less time.
10. Belly up to the table and serve the beans forth.

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