Honey Baked Bean Medley

November 17, 2016 By: Food Lion Comments

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Prep:: 25 minutes
Cook:: 8 hours
Serves:: 6-12

Here’s a Midwestern spin on the classic Boston Baked Beans, using honey instead of molasses to give the dish a light, fresh flavor. I used a mixed-bean medley in this one because my small crock pot only cooks 3/4 of a pound of beans at a time, leaving me with a little extra dry beans with every batch, so I save them until I have enough for a “medley” dish. For this batch, I used a combination of pinto, Roman and navy beans. Feel free to use all one kind or any combination of medium-sized beans that you prefer. If you want to reduce the fat content, use chunks of lean ham instead of bacon, but I would still brown it in a skillet to bring out the flavor before adding it to the pot.

Ingredients

Directions

Cover with water and allow to soak overnight or until beans are plump (at least six hours).
Next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut bacon strips into quarters.
In a small skillet, render the fat from the bacon.
Allow cooked bacon to drain on paper towel.
Mix soaked beans, rendered bacon, chopped vegetables and honey in a 3-quart kettle or baking dish. Add salt and pepper.
Add 4 cups of hot water. Using hot water allows honey to be evenly distributed.
Cover with lid and place in center rack of oven. Bake 3-4 hours until beans are tender. Stir occasionally to keep ingredients mixed, but don’t worry them too much.
When beans are tender, reduce oven to 325.
Bake another 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reached a syrupy consistency.
Allow to cool slightly before serving--but they’re good chilled, too.