Making baked beans from scratch takes a while, but during most of that time, the beans are untended. You could use canned beans, but dried beans aren’t that much more work and they’ll keep their shape better over the long cooking time.
1 (16-ounce) bag dried navy or cannellini beans
4 onions, chopped, divided
4–5 slices bacon
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup bourbon, divided
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Rinse the beans and remove any stones or debris. Place in a heavy pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for at least 1 hour. (Or cover with water and soak overnight.)
Drain the beans and cover again with fresh water. Add half of the onions and the bacon. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender, adding more water if needed.
When the beans are tender, drain them, saving the cooking water.
Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the beans in a 2-quart baking dish with the vinegar, tomato paste, molasses, remaining onions, 1/2 cup bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, cumin, garlic, and salt. Mix well, cover, and bake for 2 hours.
Uncover and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup bourbon. Stir in some of the cooking water if the beans look dry. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes longer.
NOTE * If you’ll be reheating the beans several times to serve them, refrigerate the bean-cooking water and add a little more as needed to keep the beans from getting dry.