Recipe: Durgin-Park Restaurant Boston Baked Beans

Durgin-Park Restaurant Boston Baked Beans
Source: Frugal Gourmet Cookbook by Jeff Smith
Serves 6 to 8

Baked beans belong to the American culture, and properly prepared, as they are at the old Durgin-Park Restaurant in Boston, they are stupendous.

2 lbs dried white beans
1 tsp baking soda
1 large yellow onion, peeled
1 lb bacon or fatback, chopped
8 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup molasses
2 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Soak the beans overnight in water to cover.

Cook beans in ample water with the baking soda. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.

Place the onion in the bottom of a 3-quart ovenproof casserole. Add half of the bacon or fatback. Add the beans. Top with the remaining bacon or fatback.

Mix together the sugar, molasses, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour this over the beans. Add enough water barely to cover. Do NOT stir.

Bake, covered, at 300F for 6 hours. After a couple of hours, check and stir beans. You may have to add a bit of water now and then. Don't make the beans too wet.