Grandmother’s Old-Fashioned Baked Beans for a Crowd

As promised, here’s yesterday’s recipe in the quantity to feed a crowd. CJK

Grandmother’s Old-Fashioned Baked Beans for a Crowd

(Nellie Nelson Prather)

6 (28 oz.) cans pork and beans

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups brown sugar

6 tsp. dry mustard

3 cups ketchup

1 cup molasses

1/2 lb. raw bacon, chopped *

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a large roaster.

Pour the beans into roaster and add the chopped onion. Mix the brown sugar, mustard, ketchup and molasses together in a separate bowl before adding to beans with the bacon pieces.

Bake uncovered at 325°F between five and six hours, stirring from time to time.

Yield: 20 to 25 servings

A note from Carol: *I mentioned yesterday that Grandmother and Mom always added the bacon raw but I have begun frying and draining it on paper towels first to reduce the amount of fat in this recipe. (I think it’s better if it’s not fried to a crisp state — it stays softer during baking if it’s not crisp and that’s the texture I prefer.) An entire pound of bacon could be used for this amount if it is fried first — you, the cook, decides how much goes into the batch that is being prepared!

The key to making a large batch like this is getting it in the oven early — it will take several hours at this low temperature for the liquids to reduce to a rich, thick sauce and the ingredients to combine into the characteristic flavor of this dish.