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Grandma Brown Baked Beans

This a copy cat recipe for “Grandma Brown’s Beans”. These beans were and still are a popular in upstate New York. My memories of these beans involve my Grandmother Davis. For lunch, she would enjoy a cup of tea, sliced tomatoes and a half of sandwich filled with Grandma Brown Baked Beans. Another memory I enjoy is remembering the many summers, the Clark daughters, Aunt Lilian, Aunt Grace and Grama Davis would attend the Clark family reunion at a firehouse in Troop, NY. . Every year someone would bring the Grandma Brown’ s Baked Bean casserole. It was delicious!

Description

Lu Lu Brown, introduced the baked beans to stores in the Mexico, NY area (45 minutes north of Syracuse in Oswego County) in 1938. Her son Robert perfected the canning process for this product in 1947 and it has become a mainstay ever since The beans were processed for more than 80 years on Scenic Avenue in the Oswego County village of Mexico. The company halted production early in the Coronavirus pandemic. The popular canned beans are now hard to find, but follow the recipe below and I think you will enjoy.

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Ingredients
  • 1 pound navy beans
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Water, to cover
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ounce ham or cooked bacon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 medium chopped onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoon molasses
  • (optional)
Directions
  • Add 1 teaspoon baking soda to 6 cups water and bring to a boil.

  • Sort the dried beans through discarding any debris.

  • Add the navy beans to the alter and boil for 10 minutes.

  • Turn off the heat and cover the pot.

  • Let it stand over night.

  • Rinse the beans well.

  • Add the beans and the rest of the ingredients to an oven proof pot with a tight fitting lid.

  • Stir well.

  • Cover the beans with fresh water just until the beans are covered.

  • Cover pot with lid.

  • Bake at 300˚F for 5 to 6 hours.

  • Stir the beans every hour and add water to the beans if drying out.

  • The final product should be a thick and not runny.

  • Yields: 10 cups; serves 6-8

  • Adding additional water is the key. These baked beans can be somewhat dry otherwise.

Categories

AppetizerAmericanSide DishVegetarian