Baked beans are a very simple dish, yet few cook them well. They
should be put in cold water, and hung over the fire, the night before
they are baked. In the morning, they should be put in a colander, and
rinsed two or three times; then again placed in a kettle, with the
pork you intend to bake, covered with water, and kept scalding hot,
an hour or more. A pound of pork is quite enough for a quart of beans,
and that is a large dinner for a common family. The rind of the pork
should be slashed. Pieces of pork alternately fat and lean, are the
most suitable; the cheeks are the best. A little pepper sprinkled
among the beans, when they are placed in the bean-pot, will render
them less unhealthy. They should be just covered with water, when put
into the oven; and the pork should be sunk a little below the surface
of the beans. Bake three or four hours.
Stewed beans are prepared in the same way. The only difference is,
they are not taken out of the scalding water, but are allowed to stew
in more water, with a piece of pork and a little pepper, three hours
or more.
Dried peas need not be soaked over night. They should be stewed slowly
four or five hours in considerable water, with a piece of pork. The
older beans and peas are, the longer they should cook. Indeed, this is
the case with all vegetables.