I’ve written a lot recently about frugal meals and menu planning. One of the most budget-friendly foods you can make is beans, and this recipe deserves attention for two reasons: it’s wildly delicious and it’s inexpensive. Plain and simple.
I resisted making a couple of cheap beans-and-gas jokes just now, but I’ll spare you. Instead, I’ll tell you about my Grandpa and his favorite sandwich.
My Grandpa knew food. He was a construction worker, a professional musician and an ordained Methodist minister. Among his many accomplishments, this sandwich is one of the most memorable.
A sandwich made from baked beans, onions and mustard might sound odd at first, but it works brilliantly. The homemade baked beans are saucy and slightly sweet with a strong molasses presence. Thinly sliced onion adds a sharp, fresh bite. The tangy, salty snap of yellow mustard balances the beans’ sweetness. On lightly buttered homemade rye bread, the combination becomes a remarkably balanced sandwich full of umami. What seems humble becomes unexpectedly refined in flavor.
Some of the world’s most comforting dishes grew from scarcity: pho, fried rice, dumplings, pasties, coq au vin, cassoulet, marrow bones and many others were born from the need to avoid waste and stretch simple ingredients. Baked beans fit that tradition perfectly.
Baked beans are woven into the culinary history of this country. Native peoples ate beans long before settlers arrived, and immigrants from many traditions brought their own bean preparations. Baked beans are, in many ways, an original All-American food.
My version, I think, is extraordinary. These beans are the foundation of Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwich. You could use canned baked beans for a decent result, but to achieve the sandwich my Grandpa swore would “make your tongue slap your brain silly,” you’ll want to make these beans from scratch.
What sets these baked beans apart is a little extra: spicy link sausage baked into the beans as they slowly cook in the oven. If you prefer a vegetarian version, omit the sausage and add two tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of chopped mushrooms instead. Economically, the dish is hard to beat: including sausage, the entire batch can cost under five dollars and will feed you for days.
Sausage Baked Beans
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dried Navy beans, rinsed and picked over
- 12 cups fresh water for soaking, plus additional boiling water for cooking
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large cooking onion, peeled
- 1/4 pound spicy link sausage, cut into 1/2″ chunks
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder (or 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Place the rinsed Navy beans in a Dutch oven or another heavy, oven-safe pot with a tight-fitting lid. Pour 12 cups of fresh water over the beans, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let the beans soak, covered, at room temperature overnight.
The next morning, remove the cover, add the bay leaf, stir the beans and bring them back to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer about 30 minutes, until the beans are just beginning to soften. Add boiling water as needed—the goal is to have them starting to tenderize, not fully cooked; they will finish in the oven. Drain the beans in a colander and discard the bay leaf.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Evenly scatter the sausage chunks across the bottom of the pot you used to soak and cook the beans—you don’t need to rinse the pot between steps. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the molasses, brown sugar and mustard powder, then pour the hot beans into the molasses mixture. Gently fold the beans so they’re coated without breaking them up.
Scrape the molasses-coated beans back into the pot over the sausage. Add boiling water to cover the beans by about an inch. Place the uncovered pot in the oven and bake for about three hours, checking occasionally to ensure the beans don’t dry out. When the beans are tender—this time can vary with bean age—stir them to redistribute beans from top to bottom. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F and continue to bake, uncovered, until the sauce is thick and bubbly, about one hour. Remove from the oven, season with salt and pepper, cover and let cool until comfortably warm.
These beans are delicious hot, warm, room temperature or cold. Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. They also freeze and reheat well.
Serve alongside roasts, sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, toast or eggs. My favorite way to enjoy them is in Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches.
Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 2 slices hearty bread (rye preferred)
- 1 cup slightly reheated baked beans
- Thinly sliced sweet onions
- Prepared yellow mustard
- Softened butter
To assemble: Butter one side of each slice of bread. Spread the warmed baked beans over the butter on one slice, top with paper-thin slices of sweet onion and drizzle with prepared yellow mustard. Place the other slice of bread, butter side down, on top. Slice in half and serve with pickles or chips if you like. The sandwich is simple, satisfying and surprisingly elegant.
Enjoy—this is proof that good flavor doesn’t require fuss or expense.