BOSTON BAKED BEANS RECIPES

[Welland Tribune January 18, 1947]

By Betsy Newman

There are baked beans and baked beans. I’m rather indifferent to them as a rule, but I have a friend-a New England girl- who can bake them so I pass up my plate for a second helping. My pet recipe for baking beans would , I know, be scorned by experts of Boston and environs, because I add catsup, etc. But I like them.

I’ll give you an old recipe that will serve a dozen or more people, and a more modern one that will serve six or so. Both are labeled “Boston Bakes Beans.”

Today’s Menu
Bakes Beans  Brown Bread
Mixed raw Vegetable Salad
Gingerbread with Raisins
Coffee

Boston Bakes Beans
3 pts. Pea beans
1/8 tbsp. Soda
1 lb. Salt pork
1/4 tsp. Gingerbread
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Dry mustard
1 large spoonful molasses

Wash and soak beans overnight and parboil in the morning for 1 hour with the soda. Skim out and put one-half beans in the bean pot, put salt pork in the centre, cut in squares only through the rind. Fill around and on top with the rest of the beans, add ginger, mustard, salt and molasses. Fill with hot water, cover and bake 8 hours at very low temperature, 300 to 325 F. Look at them occasionally and add hot water if necessary, so that they do not burn.

Boston Baked Beans
2 c. (1 pt or lb.) beans
1 small onion (May be omitted)
1/2 tsp. Dry mustard
1/8 lb. Salt pork, part fat, part lean
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tbsp molasses

Soak beans overnight, drain in the morning and turn into the bean pot; or put them in fresh water and simmer gently until the skins begin to burst, being careful they they do not cook long enough to become mushy. Then put them into bean pot. Pour boiling water over salt pork, scrape rind until white, score it in half-inch strips and bury meat in beans, leaving only rind exposed. Mix mustard, salt and molasses, place in cup and fill the cup with hot water; stir until well mixed and pour this liquid over pork and beans. Add enough water to cover beans and bake in a slow oven (250-325 F.) 6 to 8 hours, adding water as needed to keep them covered until the last hour, when the pot cover should be removed and the pork raised to the surface to crisp.

Soft Gingerbread
1 c. Molasses
1 c. Sugar
1 c. Sour milk
2 tsp. Ginger
1/2 c. Fat
2  eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Soda
2 1/2 c flour
1 c. Raisins

Cream shortening, add sugar and cream well, then add beaten eggs, molasses and part of sour milk. Sift flour measure and sift with baking soda, and ginger, and add alternately with sour milk until all are used. Add fruit last and bake in 350F oven for 40 or 45 min. Or until done.