Bean Me Up Alaska Style! These are NOT your Boston Beans!

If you have been reading my posts on the regular, you know we are some bean eaters here!  We love them because they store easily, are versatile for many cooking situations, and they are filling for any group of fishermen or hockey players who come along!  I gave  you a recipe earlier for our "Cowboy Beans" (click there for that recipe) and here is another that will trip your trigger nicely as well!  As we move into the more chilly season, it's a great one for warming up the crowd or taking along as a hot dish for potluck or hospitality room.

A few years ago I had a situation where I needed to make a hot dish for a memorial service - yes - we've had a lot of them lately.  The catch was that there were some food allergies that had to be avoided for this group, so my usual Pea and Cheese Salad would not fly.  I also LOVE Baked Beans!  Most of my family however, does not like what they call "sweet beans"!  So long ago I came up with a recipe that ended up solving both of my problems and are delicious!  Its a savory baked bean!  This also works in a crock pot so another level of WIN!



This recipe makes a ton of beans so you will have some to share and can, or to feed a crowd of hungry hunters!

Alaska Baked Beans

1 Quart dried navy beans (about 2 pounds)  I have also used red beans and even pinto beans for this recipe as well or a mix of red and black.  Soak them overnight in water enough to cover them.  If you don't have time for the soak overnight, give them a simmer for a few hours on the stove top until the skins crack.  You can also use canned beans if you would like - when I do that I use red, navy, pinto, or a mix of the three.  Rinse them a bit before using and drain.

2 large onions diced                                                                     

3 large sprigs of sage chopped fine

1 can of tomato sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1 Tbsp Cumin

3 gloves minced garlic - or more - we like lots of garlic

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1/4 C mustard

1/4 C Ketchup

1/4 C Molasses

2 C Chicken broth or Beef broth (I use low salt or home made broth) click on broth to see recipe.

2 tsp salt and pepper

1 package of stew meat - brown the meat in a skillet

       you can also use canned or shredded meat of your choice. Pork, beef or moose.

You might notice that this recipe does not include bacon - I have a family member who cannot eat bacon, sadly, so we use just the browned moose meat and the smoke to make up for it.

I use a crock pot to cook the whole shebang - Use your big boy crock pot on low for about 9 hours.  Check your beans for doneness and serve em up!

To bake them in the oven bake for 4 hours at 350 degrees in a deep dutch oven.

If you are planning to can them only cook in the crock for about 4 hours and the oven for 2 or they will be over done in the canner.  For quart jars, process in pressure cooker at 10 pounds for 60 minutes,  pint jars for 45 minutes.  Let set for 24 hours and make sure "button" has been sucked down.  Store as you would any canned product.  Cool and dry.

Enjoy and blessed be!