Firehole Beans Food

BAKED BEANS TRADITIONAL BEAN-HOLE BEANS

Steps:

• Soak 2 pounds of yellow-eye beans overnight.
• Parboil beans until the skin peels away by blowing on a few beans in a spoon.
• Add the mix to the beans and stir slightly.
• Slice 1 pound salt pork into sections.
• Cut each section partly through in a criss-cross pattern and place pieces on top of the beans.
• Cover the beans and set to one side.
• The bean hole should be dug into the ground and be half again as large as your dutch oven or any other tightly lidded pot.
• Using seasoned hard wood, accumulate live coals until hole is 3/4 full.
• Shovel out the coals leaving about 3 inches of live coals in the bottom of the hole.
• Set the bean pot in the hole on top of the 3 inch bed of coals.
• Shovel the rest of the coals around and on top of the pot.
• Cover with dirt and check for escaping steam and making sure none is leaking out.
• If steam is leaking out, cover area with more dirt.
• Leave in the ground for 8 hours or overnight.
• Note: Make sure the beans are completely covered with hot water before putting in ground.
• The beans need to go into the ground hot.

BEANHOLE BEANS RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• The night before you cook the beans, give them a rinse and put them in a large bowl with enough water to cover by 3 inches. Soak them 10 to 12 hours; add more water as needed toward the end of soaking. When the beans are done soaking, drain well. Put the beans in a 4- to 5-quart pot with enough water to cover by 1 to 2 inches. Set over high heat and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to a low simmer and skim the foam off the surface. Simmer the beans gently, adding water as needed, until the skins crack when you blow on them, 45 to 60 minutes. When the beans are done, remove from the heat and drain. Preheat your oven to 250° and bring a medium-size pot of water to a simmer. Return the beans to the 4- to 5-quart pot and add the salt pork, ham hock (if using), maple syrup, and onion. Stir; then add the salt, ginger, mustard, pepper, and thyme, and stir. Add enough hot water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Bake until the beans are soft and sweet, 4½ to 6 hours total, checking regularly and adding water as needed to keep the beans from getting dry. The finished beans should be tender, not mushy or soupy.

FIREHOLE BEANS

Steps:

• Using a galvanized pail, soak the beans overnight. Pour off the top water and with it any floaters, twigs, etc. Swirl the beans for a time. This will allow any rocks to go to the bottom just like nuggets in a miner's pan. Lift the beans using the fingers of the two hands as a strainer. Transfer to a heavy iron pot, or Dutch oven, equipped with a well-fitting lid. Add salt and cold water. Bring slowly to a boil and keep boiling for 3 hours, adding water if the level drops beyond what appears to be a safe point. Slice the salt pork into 1-inch-wide strips and cut crosswise, forming squares of fat attached to rind. Add the pork, molasses, mustard, and tomatoes. Cover and bake at 350° about 2 hours, checking water level periodically.