Cherry’s British Boston Baked Beans Recipe

What you will need: For the beans -

500g Borlotti Beans (dried)
500g Haricot Beans (dried)
500g Red Kidney Beans (dried)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 large onion

For the British Boston mix -

1 tsp cinnamon
2 Romano peppers (approx 100g each)
4 tblsp apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic (crushed or finely chopped)
1 cup rich Barbeque sauce
4 tbsp packed brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
225g smoked gammon
1 large onion
Generous seasoning of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Cherry’s British Boston Baked Beans Recipe

In the UK the 5th of November is celebrated as Guy Fawkes Night and if you are having some peeps over for a bonfire and some fireworks this weekend then I have the recipe for you. It’s hearty and guaranteed to warm the cockles. This is also a recipe that we’ve created specifically for LARGE BOOMING gatherings. So often I bang a chili in to the oven on such occasions but this is just as good and another dish to add to the repertoire.

We needed the perfect dish that we could serve with some nice crusty bread and steamed rice and this dish is perfect for that. Please bear in mind that the quantities I have given will produce 2 large pots (5 lt. pots – I told you it was a lot!) of my British Boston Baked Beans. You can of course half the quantities if you like but if you do decide to make the full amount you will be happy to know that these beanie babies freeze beautifully and are even better having been heated up.

You can find a useful weight conversion chart here.

For the beans…

If the packets of your dried beans tell you to soak all your dried beans in large pan overnight then you must do this.

The next morning…. drain the beans and distribute them equally between two large pans
Add 1 litre of water to each of the pans ensuring the beans are totally immersed in the water. Add more water to cover if necessary
Peel your onion and cut it in half
Add half of the peeled onion to each pan along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Put the pans on a high heat and allow them to reach boiling point and then let them boil for a further 5 minutes
After 5 minutes turn the heat down to a medium/low heat and part cover each pan with the lid
Allow both pots of beans to gently simmer for 2 hours until the beans are tender

Note: the beans should always be immersed under water so add more water throughout the simmering process if necessary

After 2 hours….

Drain both pans of beans
Remove and discard the onion pieces.

For the British Boston mix…

Use a large mixing bowl to combine the cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper.
Stir until blended.
Finely chop the Romano peppers and add them to the bowl.

Cut the uncooked smoked gammon into smallish sized cubes, removing any fat from the cut, and add to the bowl
Then add the crushed (or finely chopped) garlic and stir well until all the ingredients are blended together
Divide the boiled beans into two separate pans or oven proof dishes – they must be able to fit into the oven and have a lid (I used one large oven proof pan and a one dutch oven)

Divide the British Boston mix equally in two and then pour over each pan of beans
Stir gently but thoroughly to ensure all the beans are covered in the mixture
Pour one litre of fresh water into each of the pans and once again stir gently
Peel and half the other onion and add the two halves to each of the pans
Put both pans, with the lids on, into a hot oven – 220c – and cook for 1 hour.
After one hour remove from the oven and stir well making sure there is still liquid in the pans and they have not dried out.
Add more water if absolutely necessary but don’t dilute! On the other hand don’t let them dry out. Pesky beans.

At this point the beans will be cooked but to get the most out of all the flavours you have added to the pan it is advisable to let them cook slooowwly for a further three hours in a warm oven – 150c.

Serve immediately …..
or warmed up a little later …..
or even freeze them and eat them another time once defrosted.

They taste great with crusty bread, rice or cornbread.

If you are heading out tonight then have fun. Remember to put your pets inside as they can get scared by the big bangs and don’t pick up a firework after it has gone off as it may still be hot.

Hmmmmm, at least there was one of us paying attention during Blue Peter as a kid! Do you remember those adverts they used to play on the tele around this time. That poor girl who picked up a firework, screamed, and then had to show her hand to the camera!

Jeez, I was scarred for life over that one.

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