2 c Dried great northern beans
5 c Water
6 sl Bacon
1/2 c Onion; chopped
2 cl Garlic; crushed
1 ts Salt
1/2 c Barbecue sauce or ketchup
2 tb Hp sauce
1 tb Prepared mustard
1 tb Vinegar
1/4 c Brown sugar
1/2 ts Pepper
When camping or planning a bean supper when no oven is available, try
this version of baked beans, which is cooked over a camp fire or on a
barbecue.
Prepare beans using quick soak method. combine soaked and drained
beans in a heavy saucepan with 5 cups water. In small skillet fry
bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Saute onion and garlic in
bacon drippings. add crumbled bacon, onion mixture and salt to
beans. bring to boil; reduce heat. cover and simmer until tender,
approximately 1 hour. drain beans reserving liquid. combine
remaining ingredients with 1/2 cup bean liquid. add to beans
mixing well. cover and simmer additional 30 minutes.
To make beans darker, add 1-2 ts browning sauce. Browning sauce
may be used to darken any bean casserole; add a little at a time
until desired colour is obtained.
POINTER: At high altitudes, beans take longer to rehydrate and cook.
cooking times will increase substantially at 3,500 feet or more,
above sea level. Difficulty in cooking beans to desired tenderness
within specified cooking times is usually caused by hard water. Some
cooks add a small amount of baking soda to counteract the problem,
however, this is not recommended as it will destroy the thiamin and
reduce the nutritional value. One solution to the problem is to use
purified bottled drinking water for soaking and cooking.
From: Murray Hackett
Another fix is to just soak them longer, much longer and don't add
anything acidic to the pot until they are fully cooked and quite
soft. - JW