Make and Can Your Own Batch of Delicious Baked Beans

Make and Can Your Own Batch of Delicious Baked Beans

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Baked beans are synonymous with camping, hiking or “roughing it”, which also makes them a perfect addition to your survival diet.  Beans are loaded with protein, carbohydrates as well as important nutrients, and you can easily prepare and store them for the long-term.  When you’re ready to eat them, you don’t need to worry about water, cooking or waiting for them to soak ahead of time.  Follow the steps below, and see how easy it is to make a batch with some basic ingredients along with a pressure canner.

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Ingredients:

4 cups of dried navy or pinto beans

3 onions

½ cup molasses (to taste)

½ cup of brown sugar (to taste)

2 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of ground mustard

1 ¼ cup of diced salt pork

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Preparing the Beans

The first step is to sort and rinse the beans, and remove any that are not in excellent condition.  Rinse and place in a bowl of cold water for between 12-18 hours.  You will know when the beans are done soaking as they will be soft but not overly-mushy.  When finished, drain the beans, rinse and place them in a stockpot. 

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Preparing the Recipe

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Fill the stockpot with water until the beans are completely covered and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.  Cover and cook the beans until you notice their skins start cracking.

Drain the beans, but keep the water for later.  Place the beans into a baking dish or casserole before adding the rest of the ingredients, stirring until everything is mixed evenly.  Pour about 4 cups of the saved water over the top, cover, and place the beans into a 350 degree oven for 3 ½ – 4 hours.  You want the bean sauce to be a little bit runny for this recipe, so add water as necessary if the liquid becomes too thick.

Prepare the canner and jars so they will be ready when the beans have finished baking.  Fill the pressure canner with the appropriate amount of water and turn it on to warm it up.  Warm your canning jars in a hot water bath, along with the lids.  Keep them warm until the beans are ready to be canned. 

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Canning

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Carefully ladle in the beans and juices evenly in each canning jar, leaving 1 inch of headspace.  It is important that the liquid completely covers the beans, and you can add some more of the water you have been saving as necessary.  Remove air bubbles, and add more beans or liquid to keep the inch of headspace.  Wipe down the rims thoroughly to make sure they are clean before attaching and securing the lid assemblies.

Place the jars in the pressure canner, attach the lid, and let it vent for 10 minutes before closing everything up and starting the timer.  Pressure for weighted gauges should be 10PSI at sea level, and dial gauges should be set to 11PSI.  Processing times for pint jars will be around 80 minutes, and quarts will need at least 95, but make sure to adjust for altitude.

Remove the canner from heat and depressurize it before opening.  Once depressurized, remove the jars and place on a rack or counter top lined with some towels or cloth.  Allow the jars to cool overnight until they reach room temperature.  Inspect each one after cooling to ensure the integrity of the seals.  Label, date and store the beans in a cool, dry place until ready to eat.  Refrigerate or consume any beans from defective jars instead of re-processing them.

Try this recipe out for yourself, and feel free to improvise according to your tastes.  Properly canned beans should last upwards of a year, but try to consume the product beforehand in order to enjoy it at its peak of freshness and flavor.

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