From America's Test Kitchen with input from Chef John too!
Brining the beans overnight helped jump-start hydration and also softened their skins so they cooked up tender in the oven, with few blowouts. Uncovering the pot for the last hour of cooking ensured that the liquid reduced sufficiently to coat the beans in a thick sauce. Flavorings such as molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, bay leaf, onion, and salt pork, plus one nontraditional ingredient (soy sauce), gave the beans rich flavor.
Notes for 2.5 lbs (big batch!) of beans, which is 3 cups of dry beans.
- soak in brine overnight to make skins softer
- cover in water, add a tsp of baking soda, bring to a boil for 10 mins.
- drain cooking water but keep handy
- add 2 halved onions, bay leaf, 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup molasses, 2 tsp dry mustard powder, 3/4 cup brown sugar (optional maple syrup)
- add meat
- cover with cook water and bake covered for 1 hr at 300 F
- check for water coverage, add more if needed, bake for another hour
- when soft enough, remove lid, bake for another hour (max) at 350 to brown and condense.
- re-lid to steam off fondant on side of pot and scrape into beans
