Canning Baked Beans

It seems like every time I want to make baked beans, I never seem to have them on hand.  And in my homesteading logic, to fix that problem I needed to just can my own.

The only word I can find for these beans is…amazing!  I found a recipe for “Bush’s Copycat Beans” and altered it to fit our taste.  I’m going to be honest, I was skeptical that they would even masure up to store bought beans.  This is one of those times I’m happy to be wrong.  Lucky for y’all, I planned ahead and took pictures throughout the process so I could blog the recipe.

I use a Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker.  I love it, it’s easy to use and I’ve never had a single issue with it.  It comes with an in depth instrucion booklet full of recipes.  And the best part?  Amazon has them on sale right now!

You’ll need to gather your ingredients.  The ingredients you will need are:

2 lbs. Navy Beans
2 cups water
2 cups Ketchup
1 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Vinegar
1/2 cup Molasses
3 heaping tbsp Brown Sugar
1 ½ tsp Mustard Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
4 slice bacon, cooked and chopped
½ cup onion, chopped

First, prepare your jars.  This recipe makes 8 pints.  You always want to start with clean, sterilized jars.  I run my jars through a cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize them.  I then turned my oven to 170 and sat them inside, upside-down.  I just let them in there until I’m right ready for them.

Put the dry beans into a stock pot and add 8 cups of tapwater to cover.  Cook the beans on high until it comes to a boil.  Boil them for two minutes, turn off the heat and cover them.  Let the beans sit in the covered pot for 45 minutes.  This allows the beans to absorb a lot of the water.  Drain the beans in a colander.  Add them back into the stock pot and cover with another 8 cups of water.  Cook the beans for 15 minutes at a hard boil.

While the beans are doing their second boil, prepare your sauce.  In a saucepan mix the water, ketchup, maple syrup (I used fresh maple syrup made by my Amish neighbor down the road, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, mustard powder, salt and pepper.  Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer.  I stirred mine quite often to make sure it didn’t start sticking.  It won’t be thick, but it sure will taste amazing.  Just ask my husband!

Set up your work area by gathering all your tools that you’ll need.  You’ll need a funnel, magnetic lid lifter, a jar lifter and a large spoon.  Most hardware stores, and even WalMart, has canning kits.  The kits will have most of the supplies in them.

Also prep your pressure canner by putting it on the stove and heating water in it.  Make sure to read your directions for your specific canner to see how much water they advise.  I put 3 quarts of water in mine.  Also, to keep your jars from being “spotty” you’ll want to add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water.  You’ll also want to simmer your rings and lids on the stove as well.

It’s time to get your jars out of the oven.  I like to set down a kitchen towel and put the hot jars on it.  Remember, the jars are going to be hot!  So be extra careful to not burn yourself.

This is also the time you’ll want to get your lids ready.  Put your lids in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and turn the heat on low.

I didn’t drain the beans from the second boil, I just turned the burner off.  Using your funnel and using a slotted spoon, fill the jars 3/4 full of the beans.  On top of the beans, I put a tsp (give or take) of chopped onion and chopped bacon.

Once all the jars are filled, ladle the sauce into the jars.  The sauce should still be hot.  Don’t they look so yummy?

Make sure you have 1 ″ headspace between the sauce and the rim of your jar.  In canning, headspace is the amount of space you leave between the rim of the jar and whatever you’re filling it with.  Each thing requires a different headspace.  I found this handy dandy funnel that also has markings on the side to measure headspace.  Here is a little headspace chart to follow:

• Leave 1-inch headspace for low-acid foods, vegetables and meats.
• Leave 1/2-inch headspace for high-acid foods, fruits and tomatoes.
• Leave 1/4-inch headspace for juicers, jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes.

Wipe the rim of the jar off.  Never forget this step!  Even when you’re using a funnel, you are bound to get something on the rim.  And if the rim isn’t clean, it won’t seal properly.

Using your magnetic lid lifter, pull out a lid from your pot of hot water and place it on the jar.

Put your ring on and finger tighten.  I use a towel or hot pad to hold onto the jar so I don’t burn my hand.  Don’t over tighten your rings.  Also, once the jars are sealed and cooled you can remove the rings.  The lids are what keeps the jar sealed.

Place the hot packed jars in the pressure canner.

The first thing you need to do is vent your canner.  Venting means getting rid of the steam inside the canner so you can build up pressure.  To vent, you put your lid on and make sure it’s sealed  (follow the manufacturers instructions for this as well) and turn the heat up to medium or medium/high.  You DO NOT want your weight on yet.  When steam is steadily coming out of the vent, set your timer for 10 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, you’re ready for the next step.

Put your weight on the canner, being careful of the steam that’s coming out, and wait for it to come to pressure.  Once it’s up to pressure, set your timer for the appropriate time below.  Remember to only start the timer once your canner is up to pressure.  Waiting for the canner to get up to pressure sometimes takes several minutes, and it will feel like time stands still.  Just be patient, it will get there.

75 minutes at 15 lbs for pint jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)
90 minutes at 15 lbs for quart jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)

You may need to adjust the heat up or down during this time.  If you see your pressure rising above what it should be, reduce the heat.  If you see it falling below what it should be, raise your heat.  I normally don’t leave my kitchen while I’m pressure canning, just so I can keep a close watchful eye on the pressure.

When your timer goes off, turn the stove off.  Actually, turn the stove off and walk away.  Go take a much deserved seat for a while.  You HAVE to leave the lid on and allow the pressure canner to return to normal pressure.  I just let mine sit for quite a while.  Once the pressure is down to normal you can remove the lid and take your jars out.  I use the jar lifter to remove them.  And I always set them on a kitchen towel then cover them with another towel.  I don’t want them to cool down too quickly.

And there you have it, better than Bush’s baked beans!