Maple Syrup Rum Baked Beans

You need to use a large bean pot, or a Dutch-oven type pot because it's hard to get to the beans if the opening is too small, as it's all apples on top (which are delicious!).

4  cups  navy beans, dried  

12  cups  water, cold  

1  teaspoon  soda  

1  pound  bacon, sliced  

1  large  onion  

1  teaspoon  dry mustard  

1  cup  maple syrup  

1  tablespoon  coarse salt  

4  apples, cored, unpeeled  

1  cup  brown sugar  

1/2  cup  butter  

1/2  cup  rum, optional  

   

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover the beans with 12 cups cold water. Let soak overnight. In the morning pour the whole thing in a large saucepan. Add 1 tsp soda and more cold water to cover the beans, if needed.

Bring to a boil, uncovered, then boil until some of the skins come off when you blow on the beans.

Line a bean pot with some of the bacon, and then pour in the beans along with their water, layering in the rest of the bacon.

Wet the onion with water and roll the onion in dry mustard until all of the mustard sticks to it. Bury it in the middle of the beans. Pour the maple syrup and coarse salt on top.

Bake 4-5 hours in your preheated oven.

In the last hour of cooking, cover the beans with whole apples, placed as close together as possible.

Cream together the sugar and butter, and spread the mixture on top of the apples. This forms a most delicious topping when the beans are baked.

Pour the rum on top just before serving.