The Best New England Maine Baked Beans Recipe

This Maine Baked Beans recipe is another staple in a lot of New England Households. This is a slow baked, sweet and savory, bean dinner. Using Molasses and Brown Sugar giving it that rich dark color we are all familiar with. 

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Another staple in our household are old fashioned baked beans. These go great with many New England favorites like brown bread and hot dogs. In our family we love to add hot dogs to the pot at the end of the cooking time. Lets not forget some sweet and tangy, homemade coleslaw and a side of dinner rolls or crusty bread. Yummmm, sounds delicious! 

History of Baked Beans

Canned baked beans were first introduced around 1880 by an American man named, Henry Heinz. Who is the owner of the Heinz food company. Heinz then brought them to the UK and they became an extremely popular British favorite. Now the British are known to be the worlds biggest baked beans fans. This became a favorite in many places because they were a great pre-cooked meal at the end of a long day in the factory. They were prepared typically on a Saturday and then baked overnight and we’re ready the following day for lunch. Even today, these make the best leftovers, just reheat on the stove or in the oven and your only minutes from a hot meal.

The Old Fashioned Way of Baking Beans

Bean-hole beans are an old way of making baked beans. This was done by making a stone lined pit in the ground where a fire was made until a good bed of coals formed. Then the Maine baked bean recipe is put in a cast iron pot and covered with it’s lid. They then place this cast iron pot in the pit on top of the hot coals and then covered with soil. Then allowed to cook, usually overnight, making the nice thick stew we all love. 

Nowadays we have ovens that maintain their heat well and can be made in less time, no digging required. Though there are still many places that do this old fashion method. Unless they have stopped doing this in the recent years, the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine used to do this method in the Folk Arts Area of the festival. Read more about this here.

Ingredients for Maine Baked Beans Recipe

• Dry Navy Beans – this is the kind of bean I feel cook the best considering time.
• Onions 
• Salt Pork
• Mustard
• Molasses 
• Brown Sugar
• Apple Cider Vinegar – for soaking beans

Substitute Ingredients for Maine Baked Beans

• Dry Navy beans are typically used because of their size. Being a smaller white bean, they don’t take as long to bake. Alternatively, you can use Great Northern beans and Cannellini beans. With them being larger, they will take longer to cook even if you par-boil them. If you find you don’t have any of these beans on hand some other types of beans that could still be used are, soldier beans, yellow eye beans, Jacob’s cattle or pinto beans. Kidney beans and black beans have even been used in baked bean recipes. With a larger bean size, be sure to adjust your cooking time accordingly.
• Canned beans could also be used, just remember they are already cooked, so your recipe won’t need to be cooked as long in the oven. 
• Brown sugar is typically used but some will use maple syrup instead.
• Salt pork is the best for the fat and flavor but if you can not find any you can use bacon. Just remember that bacon will give you a smoky undertone in your baked beans. Pancetta could also be used since it is from pork belly and it has not been smoked.

How to Make Maine Baked Beans Recipe

The night before you want to have the beans, rinse your beans and make sure there are no small pebbles. Place in a pot that is at least double the amount of beans you have. Add filtered fresh water to the pot with a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and allow to soak overnight or at least 8-12 hours. 

The Next Morning

Preheat your oven to 350 F

Drain the water from the pot of beans. Add filtered fresh water to at least one inch above the beans and bring to a boil. As the bean boil, skim off any scum or foam that forms on top of the water. Allow the beans to boil until the skins begin to peel away from the bean when you blow on them. Drain the water and add the beans to your bean pot or large Dutch oven. 

Note: Don’t skip boiling the beans first. Parboiled beans makes sure the beans are nicely tender and flavorful when your done baking them.

Add your chopped onions, mustard, salt pork, molasses and brown sugar to the bean pot on top of the beans. Top with filtered fresh water. Add enough water until the beans are completely submerged with about an inch above the ingredients. Give a good stir and cover with a lid.

Add the covered pot to the preheated oven and bake for at least 6 hours. Keep an eye on it and add more water if the level begins to drop below the top of the food. You may want to add a catch pan under your pot to catch anything that may spill over while cooking.

Once the 6 hours have passed, take bean pot out and taste test one of the beans to make sure they are soft.

When the beans are done cooking or just about done, now is when you can add your hot dogs to the pot so they can warm up in time for when your ready to serve. 

Storage

Homemade baked beans can last in the fridge for 3 – 5 days if stored in an airtight container. 

To freeze: Allow the baked beans to cool to room temperature and portion out into appropriate portion sizes. Place in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

I like to use Souper Cubes when it I freeze things like this or a liquid item. They come in various sizes from 1/2 cup up to 2 cups. Once frozen, I pop them out of the molds and put them in freezer bags and label.

What to serve with Maine Baked Beans Recipe

• Brown Bread
• Hot Dogs
• Cole Slaw
• Potato Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Dinner Rolls
• Hamburgers

Besides adding hot dogs like mentioned in the recipe, you can serve it with some dinner rolls or a slice of buttered bread, brown bread is also popular with baked beans. 

The best baked beans are not always served as the main course. At BBQ’s they are typically a side with so many other dishes like hamburgers and French fries. 

Potato salad is also a great side dish along with coleslaw.

Many people even like to put baked beans in between a couple slices of bread and make a sandwich out of it. Surprisingly, I have not tried this but it certainly sounds delicious.

Products Mentioned

• Berkey
• Souper Cubes
• Bean Pot – Here is a similar one (I got mine from my mother years ago)
• Apple Cider Vinegar

Other Recipes You May Like

Easy Gluten Free Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

Slow Cooker Ham and Pea Soup with Bacon Recipe

Easy Gluten Free Chicken Salad Recipe – Dairy Free

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