Need help soon with Baked Bean recipe!

[A R Price]

I need to make a decision within a couple hours and hope someone online now can help. I am going to make baked beans for this weekend. Here are my two questions...

1. Can I make them today and keep refrigerated until Saturday?

2. Have you ever had success (as in the beans softened as they are supposed to) with a baked bean recipe that did not require presoaking the beans? The recipe book swears it works (they cook in the oven at 250 degrees for 5 hours) but I am skeptical and I have to have these come out right.

Thanks to anyone who can respond.

[Grace]

Beans are fine made ahead of time and reheated. They're possibly even better that way.

And pre-soaking beans has little to do with getting them to soften - people do it to take out much of the sugars that cause gassiness with beans. It's definitely not necessary. I say go ahead and follow your recipe. 5 hours actually sounds right, especially at such a low temperature. I'm sure they'll be really good. Oh, and the thing that I know that causes beans not to soften while cooking, is adding salt at the beginning of cooking. So if your recipe calls for salt, don't add it until the beans are done (or at least almost done). Something about the salt reacts with the covering on the beans and doesn't allow water to get through, and the beans will never soften no matter how long you cook them.

Good luck.

[Sami]

well, I say yes, you can make them now and keep them refrigerated until the weekend. As for cooking them without soaking, I have never had good luck doing that, but on another thread someone said that you can use raw beans in the pressure cooker and they come out fine.

I know if you boil the beans in water for 15 minutes and let them sit for an hour, that should work with your recipe.

Good luck. Sami

[A R Price]

Thanks Grace, you gave me just the answers I'd hoped for...I can proceed with my plan now!

[Jewel]

A R Price, on this board what you just did is labeled as 'teasing'. ;) Where is that recipe?? You can't just get us all excited and then back off you know! :D

[A R Price]

You're right! I lost my head. Now that the beans are in the oven I have time to type the recipe. It isn't an exotic one at all, but I wish you could smell our house right now!!!

Down-East Baked Beans (from Saveur Cooks - Authentic American)

1 lb. dried white beans (such as Maine yelloweye, great northern, navy or cannellini)
1/4 lb. salt pork, diced
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 cup full-flavored molasses
2 Tblsp. dark rum
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Put beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid, then transfer beans to a 2-quart dutch oven or bean pot.
2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place salt pork in a small saucepan, add water to cover, then bring to a boil over high heat. Drain pork and add to beans. In a small bowl, dissolve mustard in 1 tsp. of warm water. Add dissolved mustard, molasses, and rum to beans. Season with salt and peper, and mix gently but thoroughly.

3. Heat reserved cooking liquid in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour enough of the liquid(about 3 cups) into bean pot so that beans are moist but not floating. Reserve remaining cooking liquid. Cover pot and bake, checking occasionally to ensure that beans are not drying out, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed. Cook until beans are soft, about 5 hours.

4. Remove cover, gently stir beans, and return to oven. Bake until cooking liquid thickens into a sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with brown bread if you like.