Wednesday, April 28, 2010

CROCKPOT PORK & BEANS (a classic side dish for your barbecue)

It is finally warm enough to cook outdoors here (even though we still have snow in some of the shady parts of the yard), so I'm digging out some tried and true make-ahead side dishes for the up-coming barbecue season.

This is a classic recipe at our house (I fix these beans a lot). They have a great flavor and I often (to save time) make them the day before a barbecue so I can just sit them in a heavy pan on the coolest part of the grill to gently warm while the rest of the food cooks.
2 cups DRY navy beans (see note)
5 to 6 cups of water (see note)
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped onion sauted till sweet
½ pound cooked crisp bacon (crumbled)
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon DRY ground mustard
(1) 8 ounce tomato sauce
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No need to pre-soak the beans, just put everything in a crockpot and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours depending on how hot your crockpot cooks (see note). Stir once in a while...thats it!!
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NOTE: I've used this recipe with every kind of dry bean you can imagine. They all work, but the dry white navy beans work the best and don't mush-up.
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NOTE: Start with 5 cups of water. It will seem really soupy in the beginning, but it will thicken up and the beans will absorb most of the water after 8 hours. Once in a while I have to add that last cup of water if the beans need it...just depends on how much liquid you like in your beans.
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NOTE: Every crockpot cooks differently. These beans should be done in 8 hours on LOW. I just got a new crockpot (a real gem). It has a timer for low and high and then it automatically kicks over to "warm" which is wonderful for beans...they won't overcook.
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NOTE: These beans are absolutely delicious on day two & three as well.

10 comments:

Ana Powell said...

I love your beans recipe but the amount of cooking hours worries me.
I`ll have to cheat, the process, sorry.
It really sounds delicious x

Heidi said...

I love beans and the fact you throw these in the crockpot is wonderful! We grill often and I can't wait to try these beans out with some fresh grilled steak :)

Barbara Bakes said...

I have never made pork and beans from dry beans. This version sounds so easy and delicious.

Lara said...

I rarely cook from dried beans, but this looks delicious!

Cheryl said...

Those beans sound good, however I have a question? Do you have any recipes for the Pressure Cooker? especially bean ones? I just got one and am ddyin to make beans

Julie said...

Would be interesting to try pork and beans like this! Sounds delicious.

Leslie said...

Gotta love a good slow cooker meal!

Katy ~ said...

Smiles. Love baked beans made in the slow cooker. That's how I make mine now as well, although I do have the standard brown crockery Boston baked beans pot, which I love. I think the last time I made them it was closer to 10-12 hours before they were soft enough for me, but I might have used a different dried bean. Looks like a terrific recipe, Coleen, a real family pleaser.

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steak and eggs said...

Yesterday I made your pork-in-beans. They were delicious, and so much better than the canned one.

Thanks to you I have a new recipe. It took about 8 hours, but I started out on high for about an hour, then turn to low. The last hour turned back to high to thicken the beans. I used ham instead of bacon and there might have been more water in the ham. If anyone has wanted to make pork-in-bean this is the recipe to try. Yummy