New England Pork and Beans

This is the 3rd and final recipe using the Master Recipe. Another great one. This one is a bit time consuming but well worth it.

New England Pork and Beans
1 lb dried baby lima beans or navy beans (I used navy beans...I couldn't bring myself to buy lima beans because I hated them as a child and why turn back on that feeling which has never failed me?)
4 strips bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup molasses
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 ts ground cloves
3/4 lb cider braised pork loin (see master recipe), cut into thin strips
1 1/2 tsp salt

Rinse and pick over beans. Cover with cold water; soak overnight. (There is a rapid-soak method which I used: Rinse and pick over beans. Cover with 6-8 cups hot water, bring to a rapid boil, boil for 2 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit one hour. Drain and rinse and proceed as directed.)

Preheat oven to 300. In 8-qt Dutch oven, saute bacon slices until crisp. Add onion, cook 3 minutes, stirring. Add beans, cider, molasses, bay leaves, thyme, cloves, and 2 cups water. Place in oven. Cook 3 1/2 hours, covered. Do not stir.

Add pork strips, salt, and additional 1 cup of water if needed for desired consistency (I added about 1/2 cup but I didn't need to, I had a ton of bean juice left over). Return to oven; bake 30 minutes, uncovered.

I have had many baked beans in my day. It is a dish I am very fond of. These were the best beans I have EVER had. I am not kidding or exaggerating. This recipe you could do without doing the master recipe first, because you don't definitely need the pork, it just adds to it. If you like beans at all you should definitely try this recipe. All the kids liked the "brown beans" as Steve has taken to calling them in the past. All in all I think the master recipe thing was a good move. Next month I'm trying chicken. Stay tuned =0)