Baked Beans (Irish)

Baked beans are sometimes served as part of an Ulster Fry or full Irish breakfast, or as an accompaniment to Irish sausages. They are nearly always canned (Heinz is the predominant brand, with Batchelors a close second), but it's easy to make them from scratch.

1 lb navy beans, washed, with any stones or shriveled beans discarded (500 g)
½ cup dark brown sugar (100 g)
1 small onion, minced
⅓ cup black treacle or molasses (80 mL)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. dry mustard
sea salt

Put the beans in a large pot with water to cover, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, adding more water if necessary to keep the beans just covered, for 1-1½ hours, or until the beans are very tender but not split.

Drain, reserving the cooking water and set the beans aside.

Preheat the oven to 275°F (140°C/120°C fan, Gas Mark 1).

Put the beans, sugar, onion, treacle, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and salt to taste into a bean pot or deep baking dish. Add the reserved cooking water and a little more water, if necessary, to just cover the beans. Bake, uncovered, for 5-6 hours. The top of the beans should brown, but if they start to get too dark, cover the pot.

Makes 8 servings.