Baked beans are a simple, homey dish that’s surprisingly complex. When I opened my restaurant, East Coast Grill, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I served them on every barbecue platter because their sweet and savory, porky flavor, almost toasty with molasses, complements spicy, smoky meat.

Boston baked beans can be traced to Native Americans, who would dig a hole, burn wood down to coals, bury a cast-iron pot filled with beans, water, fat, and maple syrup, and let everything cook overnight. This practice became a favorite in lumber camps, and then at family gatherings and church suppers. Over time, people began cooking their beans in ovens instead of holes and incorporating regionally popular ingredients, such as salt pork and molasses.

获取食谱：Classic Boston Baked Beans

有了我的烧烤背景，我非常喜欢在坑里烹饪东西，实际上，我的院子确实有一个豆洞，这非常适合当我想消除一天的时间。但是，作为21世纪的公民，我也在烤箱中烹饪这些豆子，坦率地说，它们的味道同样好。我使用盐猪肉，糖蜜，枫糖浆和红糖来调味和变甜豆类。首先，我将所有东西都带到炉灶上，然后将其全部烘烤，然后慢慢烘烤，直到豆变软，这可能是4到6个小时，具体取决于豆的“新鲜”（年龄较大）干豆煮得更慢）。与在一个洞中烹饪相比，这是一个快点，而且它们总是值得等待的。

Need to Know

使用糖蜜帮助豆类保持形状。它的酸度使豆类煮得更慢，因此它们在漫长的烘焙时间内不会散落，从而使他们所有的味道。我喜欢使用坚固的无硫磺糖蜜，有时被标记为黑暗或全身。它比温和的糖蜜更浓缩和焦糖，但比黑色种植糖蜜较轻且苦涩。

Layer pork and onions underneath the beans. As the pork fat melts, the onions will flavor it. This oniony fat infuses the cooking liquid as it floats to the surface. Salt pork—made from the same cut as bacon, but cured only with salt and not smoked—is a New England staple. Bacon can easily be substituted with no noticeable difference in flavor.

Bake uncovered. This allows some of the liquid to evaporate, leaving behind a flavorful sauce.

Test more than one bean for doneness. Sometimes beans cook at different rates, so to avoid under- or overcooking the whole pot, try a few.

Let the beans rest before serving. The sauce will look thin even after the beans are tender, but it will thicken as the beans sit at room temperature. And because they’re in a heavy-duty pot, they’ll stay warm for a long time.