Rebaked Beans

What better to open up the holiday season than with baked beans. Nothing beats them as a side to a good ham and even better with a pork roast. There's a new old way to cook them - in the ground. Yup, that's right , you can bake them in a deep pit for a tastier treat.

This was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. The article written by John Willoughby,a sometimes contributor to the Wednesday section. He interviews master baked bean maker and chef Chris Schlesinger who is a bit of an innovator in other areas too. He first introduced live fire grilling to New York restaurants via his own his own. HE also is an expert in pit roasting cuts of meat too. Baking beans then was a no brainer. Like slow cooked meat, slow cooked beans are a wonderful blend of tangy and smoky , sweet and tart all at once. It's a slow melding of beans, maple syrup smoked pork along with mustard and flavorings.it comes from the Abenaki Indians of Maine where there are still bean bakes. These rival clambakes as far as with food, flavor and fun

For those ambitious enough to build a baked bean pit, keep in mind that is is labor intensive.You will need to dig a whole a little wider than the bean pot  There does need to be a pot to contain the beans and other ingredients (I imagine nothing fancy).There has to be six inches between the top of the pot and top of the hole.The fire has to be built with cord wood and then add about ten softball sized rocks to maintain the heat. You have to wrap the beans and other ingredients in foil before burying them . the beans have to be cooked for six hours but the taste is worth it however.

Baked beans are always a holiday treat. Baking them in the ground is a new old way of doing such It may be labor intensive but worth it