Just a comment on this recipe I submitted. Wow, haven't looked at this site in awhile... anyhow, in defense of this recipe... this is a variation of the more traditional New England baked bean dish (made with just brown sugar and/or molasses with ground mustard) and it is meant to be "subtle". Bland and slightly sweet actually with a hint of ginger zippiness. It is not like the baked bean dishes from the American West and South which are much spicier and zesty (which I also love, been looking for a good bbq/ranch style/southwestern type of bean recipe to try). Ketchup and other spices, as some reviewers suggested and added, seem almost sacrilegious. LOL As for the amount of water you add to the beans, the recipe as I originally submitted stated that it had to be monitored and adjusted accordingly. Different altitudes (I'm in Colorado) and crockpots will require some tweaking. Also, I always stir the beans a few times in the last few hours, which crushes a few beans and thickens up the dish overall. If there is too much water, I remove some. Cooking is an art, not a precise science... tweak as you go... adding more of "this" next time and less of "that"... which is why there are so many recipes for the "same dishes" out there.
After reading the reviews I was a little leary to try this recipe. I will have to say that I am very glad I did. There were a few subtle things that I changed only because of previous experience with cooking beans. The first was I added an extra cup of water so that the beans were nearly covered with the liquid mixture. I also added 1/4 cup more of brown sugar to help off set the extra water. I used the syrup I had on hand and it did not come out too sweet. I cooked the beans on high in the slow cooker for 5 1/2 hrs. and the beans soaked up most of the liquid so that it was not watery like previously stated. This recipe was a big hit with the family and we will be enjoying this for years to come.
I had to try these after reading the creator's review - her approach to cooking sounded like mine. The only modification I made was to use heaping teaspoons of ginger and mustard (it's a habit) and they're fabulous. Precooked and then into the crock pot on low for 11.5 hours... they're for dinner tomorrow and I'm so excited to taste how the flavors meld after setting for a day. Thanks for my new baked beans recipe!
Not sure what I did wrong but these were not good - they came out very bland. My husband and I stood over the crock pot repeatedly tasting then adding various spices we thought were missing until we finally gave up. I did discover through this recipe however that real maple syrup is heaven on earth!
Without reviews i tried this & it is very good. I liked the ginger in the recipe gave it new kick! I'd of never thought of putting ginger in this dish. I only gave it 4 stars even though it tastes wonderful because i think this much real maple syrup is a bit expensive to use for a basically baked bean dish. Would make this agin but would try imitation maple syrup next time.
I use a half pound of bacon diced and fried in place of the salt pork. I sometimes use all molasses instead of the maple syrup. No matter how you make this one it is a keeper and tastes delicious.
This was a hit! I used a 1/2 of bacon instead of the salted pork. Cooked in slow cooker on low for 10 hrs and took the lid off the last hr. No problems with the beans having too much liquid. I am moaking again this weekend for another bday party.
My significant other wanted to try to make home made baked beans so I found this recipe and gave it to him to make while I was gone for the day. I came home the house smelled wonderful and the beans were great. He used 1/2 pkg of smoked bacon cuz that's what we had. Used good quality pure maple syrup and he didn't change a thing. Cooked for 11 hours on low then 1/2 hour on high with the lid removed. Yum! Thank you for submitting this recipe! LoL!
This is terrific - if you don't want to to deal with dry beans (or forgot to soak them overnight like I did) you can use 4 cans of unseasoned great northern beans. just rinse them really good and watch the amount of water you add you won't need quite as much. This was a big hit and definitely a keeper!
