Boston Baked Beans 1890

As noted in an article written late last year (2000), I am on the lookout for the real, genuine-article Boston Baked Bean recipe. Never having been to Boston, I am a little hard-pressed to determine what the Real Thing is. So I'm engaged in a project to accumulate and analyze as many Boston Baked Bean recipes as I can in order to see if I can discern what really makes this historical treat.

In the process, I ran across the recipe that follows in an ancient cookbook from a church in Emerson, Idaho. Why anyone in Idaho would know the real recipe for Boston Baked Beans, I don't know; but this recipe has lots of detailed instructions that give you the feeling that the author may have known what she was doing. The cookbook claimed the recipe came from someone's grandmother, who had brought it across the plains from New England. Since it talks about where in the fire to put the beans, I can believe it.

To keep everyone entertained while the Great Boston Baked Bean Recipe Search goes on, here is an intriguing, interesting recipe.

• 1 quart pea beans
• water
• 4-inch square salt pork
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Do not soak the beans overnight.

Place a quart of pea beans over the fire. Cover them with cold water and slowly bring water to a boil. Set the kettle where the beans will just bubble until they have cooked for 15 minutes.

Add salt pork to the kettle and simmer gently with the beans until they may be pierced with a pin but are not all broken.

Turn the beans into a colander to drain, but keep the water for later. Place together in a cup molasses, salt, and pepper to taste; fill the cup with some hot water in which the beans were boiled. Place the beans in a pot, which should be earthenware with a narrow mouth and bulging sides.

Turn over the beans in the pot the cupful of seasoning and stir until thoroughly mixed. Cut the rind of the salt pork in small square pieces. Sink the meat into the beans, leaving the rind exposed. Add more bean water until the rind is covered. Bake two hours, raising the pork during the last 3/4 hour to brown and crisp the beans on top.

Well, what do you think?

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