CHUCKMAN ORIGINAL ADAPTATION OF A JACQUES PEPIN RECIPE FOR BAKED BEANS
I have always loved well-made baked beans and salt pork.
They were a dish you often found in Chicago of the early 1960s. The best I ever
had was one of the weekly offerings at the Marshall Field’s Department Store employees’
cafeteria. I never missed them. Just seeing one of the ladies behind the
counter in the cafeteria slide out a new tray from the wall oven or warmer and
catching the aroma made your mouth water. At least it did mine.
This adaptation of a Jacques Pepin recipe comes as close as I’ve had since.
4 16-oz cans of white “Navy Beans,” also called “Pea Beans.”
Leave the liquid of two of the cans in the recipe. Drain the other two.
2 large onions or equivalent – fairly finely diced up.
One-half cup of tomato ketchup.
2 and a half teaspoons of dry mustard.
One-third teaspoon cayenne pepper.
1 and a third teaspoons of dried oregano.
One-half cup dark brown sugar.
4 tablespoons of molasses.
1 pound of very thickly-sliced fatty bacon
In a large flat casserole dish, whose sides and bottom you
have buttered, assemble all the ingredients - except for the pork – and mix
thoroughly.
Then cut the bacon into squares or rectangles that will blanket the entire top of the bean mixture, almost like a quilt.
Place the casserole on a parchment-covered cookie sheet for oven protection and cover the top with aluminum foil.
Bake, covered, in a 350-degree oven for two hours.
Remove the foil covering. Do not disturb the beans and pork.
Bake for at least one more hour. Until the top looks nicely done and appealing.
Fresh baked brown bread and butter are heavenly with it. Delicious with homemade coleslaw.
