1 cup dried navy beans

water to cover by 2 inches

pinch baking soda

½ cup onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed or minced

30 g / 1 oz. salt pork in two equal pieces

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup prepared barbeque sauce

Wash your dried, unsoaked beans thoroughly, picking out any discoloured or misshapen beans.  Drain,and place the beans in a medium saucepan and add water and baking soda.  Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low heat and let simmer very gently for 1 hour.  Check every 20 minutes to stir and see if you need to add extra water.  If you need more water, add hot water from the kettle so that you don't disrupt the cooking process.  After 40 minutes, you may add half or all of the onion if you would like to make sure that it disappears into the sauce by the end of the cooking time.  It is important to simmer at a low heat so that there are just a few bubbles breaking the surface of the water, or the beans may fall apart and turn to mush.

While the beans are simmering, combine other ingredients.  Salt pork really is the best for this dish, but if it’s not available, use two slices of thick-cut bacon, and chop them into two-inch-long pieces.  After the beans have been simmering for about an hour, add these combined ingredients, stir well, and bring back to a gentle simmer.  If your lowest setting is producing vigorous bubbling, put the lid on cock-eyed to allow some of the heat to escape.  Continue to stir and check for water amount every 15 - 20 minutes for the next hour.  By this point, the beans should be done, but if you have very old beans, they may need a little longer.  If the beans sit overnight, they will thicken and darken in colour as they absorb the molasses and barbeque sauce colour even more.

Great with fresh baked bread and a big salad.  And sausages!   Great with sausages...

Note:  If you want to heighten the whole “barbeque” aspect, add extra garlic, Tobasco, and a few drops of liquid smoke when you add the flavouring ingredients.  You can also use pinto or kidney beans instead, or a combination of beans.  If you want to avoid any barbeque flavours, use tomato sauce instead of barbeque sauce, and eliminate the Tobasco.

Notes on nutrition:  This recipe has approximately 28% of its calories from fat, which is within Canada’s healthy eating guidelines.  If you are watching your fat intake, you can reduce the salt pork by half, which brings the percentage down to 17% from fat, and of course, you can omit the salt pork entirely for a very low fat vegetarian dish.