| 1 | Chop the bacon; fry crisp, then drain well. |
| 2 | Rinse the beans thoroughly and pick through them for anything that should be discarded. |
| 3 | Place in a 4 quart saucepan and add enough water to cover the beans by 2 or 3 inches. |
| 4 | Over high heat, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. |
| 5 | Remove from the heat and leave the beans in the hot water to soak for about an hour. |
| 6 | Return to the heat and bring back to the boil. |
| 7 | Add the salt; lower the heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes. |
| 8 | Drain the beans and discard the water. |
| 9 | Preheat the oven to 275°F. |
| 10 | Place the partly cooked beans in a heavy casserole, bean pot or dutch oven. |
| 11 | Make a well in the center of the beans and in it place the onion stuck with cloves; cover with the beans. |
| 12 | Mix the molasses, 2/3 cup of the brown sugar, the dry mustard and the pepper in a small bowl. |
| 13 | Add a cup of water to the mixture; stir to mix well and add to the beans in the pot. |
| 14 | Poke the pieces of chopped salt pork into the beans. |
| 15 | Cover the beans with the fried bacon pieces and pour a cup of water over all. |
| 16 | Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 4 hours. |
| 17 | Remove the cover and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the bean mixture. |
| 18 | Continue to bake, uncovered, for another 45 minutes. |
| 19 | Yields 6 generous servings. |
| 20 | Serve with steamed brown bread. |
| 21 | Note: if the beans seem dry after the 4-hour baking period, add another ?cup of water before adding the final sprinkling of brown sugar. |
| 22 | Shortcuts can be taken in making this recipe. |
| 23 | In the initial cooking, boil the beans for 15 minutes rather than 5 minutes, and simmer for an hour rather than for 45 minutes. |
| 24 | When baking the beans, increase the oven heat to 300 degrees, but watch closely to see that the beans don"t dry out too much. |
| 25 | Should they become dry as they are baking, simply add a little water. |
| 26 | Following these steps will reduce the baking time to 2 ?hours. |
| 27 | Per valerie whittle fidonet cooking echo |
