Two versions of French Canadian Baked Beans

My friend Denis who is French Canadian came to the country to help with the sugaring off and, and in keeping with the tradition of sugaring off, brought baked beans for the perfect sugaring off lunch.  Denis' version uses molasses, pancetta, and ketchup and is richer, sweeter and darker than my grandmother's.

My grandmother baked beans with maple syrup and ham.  She was also French Canadian and passed the tradition of making baked beans to my very WASP mother. As we were growing up, my mother would begin making baked beans the day after the family finished a large ham, always referencing my father's French Canadian roots as the beans were being served. 

The success of my mother's beans was always relative to the amount of time that the beans were allowed to bake. Baked beans take time, and my mother, sometimes tried to shorten the baking time, which resulted in less than perfect beans. So while it doesn't take much active time to prepare the beans, they do require almost 24 hours of lapsed time to reach perfection. This also makes it the perfect dish for an event because all the work is done the day before, and they are often better the day after.

Denis's French Canadian Baked Beans

Denis's French Canadian Baked Beans

2 1/2 cups of navy beans

1 medium onion

1/3 cup of black strap molasses

1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 teaspoon of dry mustard

2/3 cup of ketchup or tomato paste

1/4 cup of sliced pancetta
salt to taste

Sort and rinse beans and soak overnight in 7 1/2 cups of cold water.  Drain and add 8 cups of cold water, cover and bring to a boil and simmer for a half hour or until tender.  Drain and reserve 2 cups of liquid.

Place sliced onions in bottom of  6 cup bean pot or casserole with tight fitting lid.  Add molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and soy sauce and salt to beans, and stir.  Add to bean pot, and reserved liquid.  Cover top of beans with pancetta, cover with lid and bake in 300F oven for 2 hours.  Add more water if required to ensure beans remain covered.  Remove lid and stir, and cook for another 2 hours or until sauce is thick.

A Variation on My Grandmother's  Maple Baked Beans and Ham

2 cups of dried white beans, I use kidney beans, my grandma and mother used navy beans
1 large onion
1 shallot,
1 cup of maple syrup
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard 
1 tablespoon of ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon of crushed dried chili pepper
one ham bone or 4 slices of thick bacon
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Sort and rinse beans and place in a large bowl covering with at least 2 inches of water.  Cover and soak beans for at least 12 hours.  Drain water and place beans in a sauce pan.  Cover with at least an inch of cold water.  Remove any bits of ham that are still on the bone and set aside. Place the bone and bay leaves in the pot along with beans.  Bring to boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, about 45 minutes, adding more water if required.

Preheat oven to 300F.  If using bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and cook until crisp, reserving fat for later.  Dice onion and shallot into 1/2 inch pieces.  

Drain liquid from beans, and set aside. Remove bay leaves. Place beans in a 6 quart baking dish with a tight fitting lid.  I found a bean pot that is similar to the one my mother and grandmother always used at an auction and now use it to bake beans in.  Add onions and shallots, ham or bacon bits, maple syrup, mustard and ginger.  Add a cup of the broth saved from the boiling of the beans.  Cover and bake for about two to three hours or until liquid is absorbed and the beans are tender.  If beans are not tender, add more of the reserved broth and continue cooking until tender.  Remove from the oven, remove ham bone, making sure that any bits of ham still attached to the bone are removed and added to the the beans.  Taste and add salt if required.  Stir in cider vinegar and serve.  

This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day, so I often complete the day before and refrigerate overnight, and reheat for an hour at a low temperature of about 250F the day of.  It may be necessary to add additional fluids when reheating.  

Note: Navy beans will take longer to cook.