| Fast Prep

baked beans with bacon

prep: 30 minutes | stand: 1 hour | cook: 1 hour | bake: 1 hour 30 minutes at 300°F | MAKES: 10 to 12 servings (½ cup each)

1. Rinse beans. In an oven-safe 4- to 5-qt. pot combine beans and 8 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse.

2. Return beans to pot. Add 8 cups fresh water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 60 to 90 minutes or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Drain beans, reserving liquid.

3. Preheat oven to 300°F. In the same pot cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is slightly crisp and onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add brown sugar; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in molasses, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir in drained beans and 1¼ cups of the reserved bean liquid.

4. Bake, covered, 60 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 45 minutes more or until desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Beans will thicken slightly as they cool. If necessary, stir in additional reserved bean liquid. If desired, sprinkle with additional cooked chopped bacon or pancetta.

PER SERVING: 267 cal., 6 g fat (2 g sat. fat), 8 mg chol., 282 mg sodium, 43 g carb., 11 g fiber, 0 g sugars, 12 g pro.

BAKED BEANS WITH BACON, STEP-BY-STEP

1. Beans can be dirty. Sort through the package of beans and remove any pebbles and broken or shriveled beans. Rinse thoroughly in a colander.

2. Soaking dried beans helps the beans soften slightly, allowing them to cook quicker. Water starts to seep into the bean where it was attached to the plant. Soak beans overnight or use the universal quick-soak method in the recipe.

3. Beans will plump slightly after soaking. After you drain the beans, toss the soaking liquid and use fresh water for cooking.

4. Baking the beans with the lid off allows the excess liquid to evaporate and the sauce to thicken. When the beans are as saucy or as thick as you like, they’re ready to serve!