Classic Baked Franks & Beans
This recipe will have you seeing franks and beans in a new light. Serve with brown bread for authenticity.
By Molly Shuster|Sep 16 2021|
Classic Baked Franks & Beans
Photo Credit: Adam DeTourThis from-scratch recipe for classic franks & beans will have you seeing the dish in a new light. Serve with brown bread for authenticity.
In addition to being New England comfort food at its most comforting, it’s also a handy way to utilize staples such as dried beans, onions, and tomato paste. No hot dogs on hand? Any sausages will work here — or make a vegetarian version with just the hearty beans and zesty spices.
Yield
6 servings
Total Time
6 to 8 hours minutesHands-on Time
30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
1 pound dried yellow-eye beans or other white beans such as great Northern or navy
3 bay leaves
6 slices thick bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 hot dogs, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
Instructions
Place the beans and bay leaves in a 3- to 4-quart pot and cover with about 4 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer gently until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, about 1 hour 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaves.
Preheat your oven to 275°. Set a 4- to 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate, leaving the drippings in the pot.
Add the onion and garlic to the pot, and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute or two until fragrant; then remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the maple syrup, molasses, mustard, and salt. Add the beans and bacon and stir gently to combine. Pour the beans’ cooking liquid in, just to the level of the beans, about 1.5 cups (add a little water if necessary). Cover with a lid.
Bake until the beans are tender, at least 4 hours or up to 6 hours. Stir in the hot-dog slices for the last hour of cooking.
Can I use a crockpot/slow cooker for this recipe?
How can I print this???
Hi there! To print the recipe, scroll to the top of the page and click the green square with an image of a printer on it. The button is just below the title of the page. Hope this helps!
Daniel, you can use a crockpot. I use one all of the time on high. Important to trace the lid with aluminum foil and cut it out, to sit on top of the beans. This softens the beans. Otherwise they never really soften up.
I have a bag of light red kidney beans that I’d like to use up. Would they work ok for this recipe?
Yes, the kidney beans will work.
This is not New England baked beans!!
They didn’t say it was New England Baked Beans. It looks delicious.
Not a new England baked beans.
It has molasses in it. It is Boston style baked beans. New England enough for me.
These sound wonderful. Going to try them! Do you also have an authentic New England Baked Bean recipe? Maybe one of your readers, can anyone provide one? thanks!
Delicious! They cane out perfectly. I did watch the video on Instagram and that was helpful. But this is one of the best quarantine meals I have made. I didn’t have dry mustard so used Dijon and I didn’t have molasses so put in just a few tablespoons of brown sugar.
I think all beans are New England!
I have tried the cook on high with my crockpot option with the hard bean result also. I have found that by soaking the dry beans in water on low for about 10 hours (usually overnight and then I will assemble the rest of the ingredients in the morning for a slow cook on low all day) that softens the beans just right.
We are from Dedham Mass and we love Boston baked beans and brown bread BUT we cannot buy them hear in Arizona.
great recipe, grew up in Westwood MA, my dad was the bean cook started friday nite. for saturday’s nite dinner the crockpot version, l usually cover the beans in cold water then cook on high for 2 hours. then drain add all the incrediants and pour the water back in for another 4 hours. comes out great. took some practice to get the time right
No Salt Pork?
First of all, soak your beans over night after you sort taking bad beans out – NAVY beans! Next morning par boil your beans for about 2 hours or until you can blow on one/two beans, and it splits. Now you can follow whatever recipe in your crock pot, and they should be soft…have to do this step if using an oven as well. New England Baked Beans use non-sulfur molasses as well, never bacon-salt pork that you par boil and add with your onions, spices (dry mustard, salt and pepper), and molasses. Everything else does not go into New England Baked beans…if you use a bean pot in your oven cook at 300 to 325 for about 6-7 hours stirring every half hour to hour…remember that when beans are too soft, they become mush so don’t over par-boil your beans.
Love this recipe! I have made it many times. I like yellow eyed beans but have had best results with Rancho Gordo’s San Franciscano beans. They are pricier dried beans but are worth the money. Great flavor!