Maple Syrup Baked Beans

This recipe is translated from Ricardocuisine.ca. It is quiet good and very easy to make.  It's a great recipe to bring to a pot luck (especially a Cabane a sucre themed pot luck).  What it requires mostly is inactive soaking and cooking time. The beans need to soak overnight and then cook for several hours in an oven or crock pot. But it requires only a few minutes of preparation. 

 

Crock Pot Maple Syrup Baked Beans

• 1 l (4 cups) dried white navy beans
• Sufficient quantity water
• 250 ml (1 cup) maple syrup
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) ketchup
• 225 g (1/2 lb) salt pork, rind removed, in lardons
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 15 ml (1 T) Dijon mustard
• 5 ml ( 1 t) salt
• 2,5 ml (1/2 t) ground pepper

• Place the dried beans in a large bowl.  Cover the beans with water and them let soak overnight at room temperature.  Add more water if necessary to keep the beans covered. Drain and rinse.
• Add all the  ingredients to a crock pot (or dutch oven) and mix well. Add enough water to cover the beans. Cook covered for about 8-9 hours at the lowest setting or for 6 hours on the highest setting.  Season to taste.
• This recipe is best the day after when the beans have absorbed most of the liquid.

I do not have a crock pot and so I cook my beans in a dutch oven in a 120C (250F) oven for about 6 hours.  I also used bacon instead of salt pork which means that more salt will be needed for seasoning at the end of cooking. This baked bean recipe is a less sweet, and dare I say, lighter version of traditional baked beans.  For a darker sweeter version try this baked bean recipe which is also Ricardo's.  I have made it twice before and served it to large crowds who devoured the beans within minutes.