Grandma Ingalls Baked Beans

Hello sweet friends, welcome to another edition of Lessons With Laura ~ The Summer of ’69. This is an ongoing summer series inspired by the Ingalls family journey from the big woods to the prairie in 1869. This post will include patriotic kitchen decor and a recipe for Grandma Ingalls Baked Beans.

 

Grandma Ingalls Baked Beans

Various types of beans are mentioned over and over in the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Indeed beans were a staple for many pioneer families. 

My great great grandmother, Sarah Hannah Dickinson, immigrated from Northumberland, England in 1854 with her parents, William and Hannah. They settled in Wisconsin. On January 27, 1866 she married Lansford “James” Ingalls, the brother of Charles, in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. They would go on to have 10 children. Six would reach adulthood including my great grandfather, Andrew Jackson Ingalls. He LOVED his mothers baked beans, as did my grandfather and father. 

Sarah’s dress, is of course, on my must make list. I’m just searching for the perfect fabric. The new Plum Creek collection by Andover fabrics features a lovely Dakota Stripe Indigo that will become available next February. The pattern is very similar. 

From My Little Hearth on the Prairie

My family has always referred to these beans as Saturday beans. They must be soaked overnight then cooked low and slow. It is an all day affair. But the beans are always perfect warmed up for a Sunday supper. The beans can be enjoyed on their own or paired with most any meat. 

You will need these ingredients:

• 1 pound dried navy beans (approximately 2 cups or 450 grams)
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• 1/2 pound (225 grams) salt pork rinsed of excess salt if necessary and cut into 1/2-inch slices
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• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of kosher salt plus more to taste
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• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) dark molasses (Do not use blackstrap. I recommend Grandma’s brand as it is also non GMO.)
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• 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of mustard (I use Colman’s.)
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• 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
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• Optional: you can also add in one finely chopped yellow onion

Grandma Ingalls Baked Beans

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Navy beans, salt pork and molasses cooked low and and slow. It is a truly delicious dish on its own or served with most meats.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours 4 seconds

Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes 4 seconds

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried navy beans (approximately 2 cups or 450 grams)
• 1/2 pound (225 grams) salt pork rinsed of excess salt if necessary and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of kosher salt plus more to season to taste
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) dark molasses (Do not use blackstrap. I recommend Grandma's brand as it is also non GMO)
• 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of mustard (I use Colman's)
• 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
• Optional: you can also add in one finely chopped yellow onion

Instructions

1. Sort through the beans and remove any grit or malformed beans. Place in a medium sized bowl and cover the beans with cold water by several inches. Stir in 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) salt. Let beans soak for at least 12 hours (I generally do this overnight.) Drain and rinse.
2. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water by several inches. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, topping up with water as necessary, until beans are almost tender. (This can take between 45 minutes - 2 hours.)
3. Pour the molasses into a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Add in the mustard and a very generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt.
4. Drain the beans, reserving the bean water. Add enough bean water to the molasses mixture to bring the volume up to 2 cups (475 milliliters) and stir until molasses is completely dissolved. Do not throw out the remaining bean water.
5. Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). In a Dutch oven, cook the salt pork over medium-high heat. (Add in the onion if desired.) Flip the salt pork when browned on one side. (About 6 minutes.) Cook until the remaining salt pork is browned and onions are tender.
6. Add the beans to the pot and stir well to combine with the salt pork. Add enough reserved bean-cooking water to just barely cover beans and stir again. Bring to a simmer on the stove.
7. Transfer the beans to oven and bake, uncovered, until the beans are very tender, but still whole. After a couple of hours stir the beans and taste test to see if the beans are ready and add salt or pepper to taste. If the beans begin to dry out add in some of the remaining bean water. The surface of the beans will develop a delicious dark brown crust.

This Week’s Video

This week’s video features a step by step recipe tutorial as well as additional patriotic kitchen decor to adore.

If you wish to view the video in a larger format just click on the black box in the lower left hand corner that says Watch on YouTube.

 

Patriotic Kitchen Decor

In the Victorian era the Independence Day was a very important holiday. Laura Ingalls Wilder devoted an entire chapter about the fourth of July in both Farmer Boy and Little Town on the Prairie. 

Inspired by Laura I took the time to clean off the kitchen shelf and decorate it with some patriotic decor while the beans simmered away. 

The Victorians loved to use busts of past presidents in their decor. I didn’t have any but thought these two would work in a pinch. 

I gathered a few supplies from the Dollar mercantile to create their festive hats. 

But I first had to try them on Grace Ingalls and Ponyboy. 

A bit of tinsel and glue never looked so fun!

Everything else on the shelf I have had in my decorating stash for many years. 

A Pretty Little Arrangement

Some flowers were gathered from the garden and a bouquet was created for the kitchen table. 

The beans were absolutely delicious! They were served with corn on the cob, macaroni salad and hamburgers. (I cut my corn off the cob and enjoy a bun free burger.)

Brownies and Rainier cherries made for a perfect dessert. 

May everyday be a special celebration. 

Laura