Gil Faver wrote:

> anyone have a recipe which starts with dry beans? All the recipes I have
> found start with a can of cooked beans, which seems like it defeats the
> purpose of making my own beans!
>
> thanks.
>
>

Here's one I adapted from Joy Of Cooking:

BBQ Beans

2 pounds small white or navy beans (NOT great northern beans!)
1 pound smoked pork shoulder, chopped (or 12 ounces of thick-cut bacon, diced)
2 onions, diced (about two cups)
water
1 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Soak the beans overnight, then drain and put in crock pot. Run the water until
it's hot and cover the beans, then cook on high 4 to 4-1/4 hours until the beans
are soft and creamy but still intact. If you undercook the beans the dish won't
be very good, so make sure all the beans are cooked, even the ones at the
bottom. It helps to stir the crock pot every hour or so. A sprig of rosemary in
with the cooking beans smells good.

When the beans are done, turn on the oven to 250F and adjust the racks to their
lowest positions. In a No. 10 cast iron Dutch oven, warm 3 cups of water then
add molasses, brown sugar, cloves, salt & pepper, then gently fold in the beans,
onion & meat. Add water to just barely cover, then put the pot lid on and put it
in the oven.

Bake the beans until the liquid has thickened, 4 to 5 hours.

This is an enormous recipe, suitable for serving at a large barbecue party. For
a family meal, cut this recipe in half but keep all the cooking times the same.

The beans freeze well if you have leftovers.