Madam Russell Baked Beans

Authentic New England baked beans, the dish credited to Madam Elizabeth Russell, an 18th-century Methodist circuit-rider’s wife known for feeding traveling preachers. This is colonial American comfort food at its most traditional, with dried white beans, molasses, salt pork, and not much else.

The overnight soak is essential. Dried white beans need 8 to 12 hours of hydration to soften enough to cook evenly. Skip the soak and you get a mix of mushy and tough beans regardless of how long you bake them.

The blow test for doneness on the partially cooked beans is an old Yankee trick. When you blow on a few beans in a spoon and the skins crack open, they’re properly tender enough to begin the long bake. Skip the test and you end up with chewy beans even after hours in the oven.

The layered salt pork (some at the bottom, some pressed into the top) renders fat in both directions during the long bake, infusing every bean with smoky pork flavor while creating a crispy top layer that’s the prized part for many eaters.

Pro Tips

• Use a real bean pot or a heavy enameled Dutch oven. Thin pots scorch the molasses on the bottom during the long bake.

• The 4 hours covered then 1 hour uncovered timing is intentional. The cover keeps moisture in for tender beans, then uncovering caramelizes the top and reduces the sauce.

• Test for doneness by tasting a bean from the middle of the pot. Edges cook faster than centers.

• Make a day ahead. Baked beans are one of those dishes where the second-day flavor is genuinely better than fresh.

Variations

• Substitute thick-cut bacon for salt pork for a more accessible meat with similar smoky-fat function.

• Add a small whole peeled onion stuck with cloves for old-time aromatic depth.

• Use maple syrup in place of half the molasses for a Vermont-leaning variation.