The Baked Bean Variations (2024)

PublishedSeptember 26, 2023 at 2:10 PM EDT

Finally, from my wife's family comes Settler Beans, an eclectic blend of four different beans, bacon and ground beef, cooked long and slow. To be honest, it seems to me to be the champion baked bean recipe, and the one I hope my nieces learn.

While baked beans are rarely the star of any meal, they quite often are the favorite supporting dish. Canned beans are just great, but I'm struck by how easy it is to make your own, and custom tune them to your own taste and creativity. To Chef Jerry Pellegrino, the concept of baked beans does allow for endless variations.

Classic baked beans call for navy beans, and this is where you can start to get creative. The closest variation is the Great Northern bean, which is a little bigger and nuttier in favor. Italian cannellini beans have a fluffier texture. Butter beans offer a rich, savory, buttery flavor when cooked. Black beans have a great flavor, and are soft and chewy when cooked, but they will change the overall color of your dish somewhat. Dark red kidney beans work well, especially with Mexican accents. They are larger but just as creamy as navy beans. Finally, spotted pinto beans are a great alternative to navy beans. Again, they are often associated with Tex-Mex recipes.

Once you decide which bean you're going to use, if you're buying it dried and not canned, you will have to soak them overnight and then boil them in the morning for an hour. If your dried beans are really old, now amount of boiling will soften them, so always buy fresh, and don't reach into the back of your cabinet.

Variations in baked bean recipes also occur in different regions of the US.

The New England style is considered the prototype. It's a two step process: first you cook your beans until tender; then you make a sauce from molasses, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. You then combine them in a large pot, cover them with water or stock and cook them for hours. For extra flavor those New Englanders like to throw in chunks of salt pork, while Vermonter’s substitute maple syrup for molasses.

Southern style baked beans go in a smoky direction. Rather than use brown sugar or maple syrup, they will go with a rich smoky barbecue sauce which they add by the pint. Also smoked bacon pieces make an appearance.

The Tex-Mex approach favors pinto beans and less sugary ingredients in the sauce. This is where you see a lot of onion, garlic, chili powder, jalapenos, and good thick tomato sauce. Bacon is welcome and the dish is often topped with crumbled cheese and chopped parsley.

Kansas City seems to have its own approach to everything, so why not baked beans? Kansas City barbecue features thick tomato sauce and a complex rub that has its own distinctive flavor. Start with the tomato sauce and then add a mélange of brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne, onion, garlic, mustard and chili powders. Of course, there will be a good chunk of blackened brisket tossed in to give

the whole pot that traditional Kansas City flavor.

To go New Orleans style, you'll want to start with Great Northern beans (the only Yankee thing they'll tolerate). First into the pot is the Holy Trinity of onion, celery and green peppers. Then the cooked beans plus a good dollop of ketchup and a fair amount of chicken stock. Extra character comes from bacon, cubed bits of tasso, and slices of the famous andouille sausage.