Recipe by Catherine Dionne-Foster.
Ingredients
-450 g Navy beans
-150 g streaky bacon, cut into small cubes
-3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
-¼ cup molasses
-2 tbsp brown sugar
-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-¼ tsp. ground pepper
-1 small yellow onion, chopped
-1 whole yellow onion
-1 tsp. dry mustard powder
-4 slices smoked bacon, not too thin
-Breasts of 2 ptarmigan (or 2 grouse, or 2 grouse) on the bone
-½ cup maple syrup (ideally dark in color)
Preparation
- Rinse beans and soak 8 to 12 hours in cold water.
- After the soaking time, drain and rinse the beans again in cool water.
- Wrap whole ptarmigan breasts with 2 slices of bacon each. Tie with cotton twine to keep bacon in place during cooking.
- Place all ingredients except beans in a heavy cast-iron pot, either in the oven or over a wood fire.
- Add the beans to the pot.
- Cover with cold water so there's about 1/2 inch of water above the beans.
Instructions
Oven baking:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit. Bake beans covered for 7-8 hours. Add a little water as needed during or after cooking. For a darker color, you can remove the lid just before removing the pot from the oven and cook for 3-5 minutes at "broil". Remove the whole onion and ptarmigan breasts from the pot. Remove the string and bacon. Discard the bacon, whole onion and bones (they've given everything away). Bone and cut meat into large chunks. Return the meat to the pot with the beans. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper, maple syrup) to taste. Mix gently.
Cooked over a fire:
Prepare a fire with hardwood (maple, birch or cherry) for a good bed of embers. Hang the covered pot over the embers for very low heat. Cook without stirring for 7 to 10 hours. Add coals as needed, with a secondary fire close to the cooking fire. Add water as needed during or after cooking. Check for doneness and water content after about 6 hours. Continue cooking if necessary, depending on the desired tenderness of the beans. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper, maple syrup) to taste. Remove whole onion and ptarmigan breasts from casserole. Remove string and bacon. Bone meat and cut into large chunks. Discard the bacon, whole onion and bones (they've given everything away). Return the meat to the pot with the beans. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper, maple syrup) to taste. Mix gently.
Notes
Two goose legs may be substituted for the ptarmigan. If so, just omit the bacon, as the legs are fatter than the breasts.These baked beans are even better reheated. Add a little water when reheating if they seem to lack liquid.
