My slow cooker gets such a workout this time of year. But I’m not willing to fully give up “summer” foods just yet. I had a craving for baked beans recently, so I decided to make a batch in my slow cooker and serve it with a cheeseburger and cornbread. Yum. This recipe is a “Boston Baked Beans” recipe, meaning it uses molasses in the recipe.
This recipe uses bacon that was sent to me by ButcherBox, a company that delivers 100% grass-fed beef and other protein to your door. The company partners with a collective of small farms to deliver high quality products at an affordable price.
Butcher Box is a subscription service, so the boxes are mailed monthly.
The boxes come with 7-10 pounds of meat (20+ servings). There are a bunch of options: All Beef, Beef & Chicken, Beef & Pork, or Mixed (Beef, Chicken & Pork, which is what I received).
The Mixed box includes 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and all-natural pork. Most of the meat comes frozen (the bacon was not), so you can stick it right in your freezer and eat when convenient for you. I’ll have future recipes using the rest of the ingredients in the box, but for now, they are in my freezer.
This recipe also includes the best way to make bacon, in my humble opinion. Making bacon in the oven allows you to make quite a bit at a time, and the bacon doesn’t shrink up as much as it cooks. On to the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dry navy beans, soaked in water overnight
- 10 oz bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- additional water or beef broth, as needed