A little Wicked Home Cookin'

It is absolutely fall (really close to winter) here at Wicked Raven Farm, and the proof is not necessarily in the frost on the pumpkins!  Every year about this time I get really fired up to preserve the harvest, or really, to just preserve for the winter months!

I love to make up my own recipes as well and a favorite of my whole family is baked beans Alaska style.  The recipe is adapted from a recipe in the Ball Blue Book of Canning which I recommend for everyone - new cooks/caners especially!  Its a great wedding or housewarming gift too!

I always try to rotate my stock of dry goods in the fall and beans are no exception.  I am a lover of all types of bean but my very favorite are the black beans and the small red beans.  To make a batch of baked beans for canning you will want to soak a pound of dry black and a pound of dry small red beans overnight.  Make sure they are completely covered with water the whole time.

Then in the morning put them in a big stock pot and simmer in clean fresh water for two hours or until skins begin to crack.  Then do the following:

Start with some good white onion and some pepper bacon - about a pound of each.  

Dice them both.

And fry in a pan until both are smelling wonderful and the onions are translucent.

Then mix together in a bowl (I use a large shallow storage container) the following ingredients;

1 can tomato sauce

3 large sprigs fresh sage - finely diced

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 Tbsp Cumin

1/4 C prepared mustard

1/3 C Molasses

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

2 Tsp dry Mustard

1/2 C. Stubbs spicy barbeque sauce (or your favorite)

2 Tsp Salt (this seems low but remember your bacon brings some to the recipe)

Mix the whole caboodle into the beans on the stove and add the bacon and onions.

Stir together and bring to a boil - simmer for one hour.  Ladle the product into the size jar you want to use (I like the tall large mouth jars for this).  Put the lids on and place in your pressure cooker.

For pints process 1 hour and 20 minutes and for quarts 1 hour and 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

For baking the beans to use right away - simmer the original beans 3 hours, pour into a baking dish (I like a deep cast iron pot) and then pour the sauce mixture over the top and bake for two more hours or until the desired consistency is reached.  These are great for potlucks or as a side dish for a quick meal.   Great with anything!  Enjoy!