[Kitchen Witch]

Baked Beans
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

1 pound dry beans (navy beans, soldier beans, Great Northern beans, etc.)
1/3 pound salt pork
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Wash the beans in a colander or strainer; pick over the beans to remove any pebbles or debris. Put in a large saucepan and add water to cover the beans by an inch. Soak overnight.

In the morning, bring the beans to a boil. Boil until the skins break when you blow across a few beans on a spoon. Place a layer of beans in the bottom of a crockery bean pot. Score the salt pork, cutting through the pork but leaving the rind intact. Place about 1/2 pound of the salt pork in the pot. Add most of the remaining beans and water. Place the remaining 1/4 pound of salt pork in the pot. Cover with the remaining beans. Add the molasses, brown sugar, salt, and mustard. Cover with additional water. Place the lid on the pot.

Bake in a 300 degrees F oven for at least 6 hours, adding water as needed. You may want to use a drip pan under the pot in the oven.