My husband and I grew up with different ideas of what "baked beans" meant. I had only ever had white beans baked with pork and molasses, but he had red kidney beans made with bacon, molasses, and mustard. I've done some experimenting, and here I have for you a recipe for red kidney beans that will work at least reasonably well in three different ways. (This probably won't excite the gourmands in your life, but it's an easy meal, or they go really well as a side dish for a barbecue!)
You can make this a vegetarian dish by omitting the bacon, but I would add just a bit of olive oil to replace the fat.
Baked Dark Red Kidney Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups red kidney beans (dried) or 2 cans red kidney beans
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup brown sugar
Option 1: Oven method, using dried beans
Prep required if using dried beans:
- The night before: Wash beans, Soak beans overnight in cold water (or for at least 2 hours).
- In the morning: Simmer the beans in the same water until tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and rinse.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Finely chop the onion and cook until soft. Chop the bacon finely and add to pan. Cook until the bacon is cooked (but not crunchy) and the onions are translucent.
To make the sauce: In a separate bowl combine molasses, salt, pepper, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar.
Mix the onion & bacon with the rinsed beans and place in a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the sauce mixture over beans. Add just enough water to cover the beans.
Cover the dish with a lid or foil. Bake for 2 hours, until beans are tender. Check after an hour and add more liquid if necessary to keep it just over the top of the beans. (This will keep them from getting too dry.)
Option 2: Oven method using canned beans
You can also make this same recipe using canned beans - substitute two cans of red kidney beans (I used two 540 ml cans and it worked out). Skip the pre-soaking step. Rinse well and continue with the recipe. It may take less time to bake, so check on the tenderness and remove from the oven when you are happy with it.
Option 3: Stovetop method using canned beans
This one may offend a few purists, but if your oven is out (or you don't have one), this will work! Fry your onions and bacon in a large saucepan. Add the beans and stir. Add the sauce mixture and stir. Cook over low heat, covered, until beans are tender. This took about 40 minutes using canned beans.
