Pork ‘n’ Beans.
The ubiquitous backyard cook out side dish for all occasions.
They are good hot or cold and they go equally well with hamburgers or smoked brisket or barbequed pork.
I grew up eating these every time we had hamburgers or pretty much anything grilled. And so did my kids. They have always been a family favorite!
Funny thing is, we always “doctored ’em up” as grandma used to say.
So now I make Pork ‘n’ Beans exactly the way we like to eat them and then pressure can and add them to my canning pantry.
I use salt pork when I make these, so I don’t add any additional salt.
And I use my homemade tomato sauce, but I added commercially canned stuff to the recipe just in case you didn’t have any of your own.
Yet. 🙂
Looking for more pressure canning recipes? Grab a copy of my eBook “The Basics of Pressure Canning”.
Pork ‘n’ Beans
Yield: 8 pints
- 2 pounds navy or great northern beans
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (I usually half this)
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 pints of homemade tomato sauce , OR 2 (15-ounce) cans
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons sea salt, (optional)
- 8 pieces about 2″ each of bacon, salt pork, or fatback
- 8 pint jars
- 8 rings and new lids
- lid lifter/magnetic wand
- jar lifter
- canning funnel
- bubble popper
- old towels
- and, of course, a pressure canner
Prepare the beans
You need to start off by soaking the beans. So in a large pot or gallon jar, add the beans and enough water to cover by at least 3 inches.
Let these soak for 10 to 12 hours. I let them soak overnight, usually.
Prepare your jars and lids and keep them hot until needed. Check the air vent and overlock on the canner lid to make sure they are not blocked.
After the beans have soaked for at least 10 hours, rinse them under running water.
Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 30 minutes.
beans are soaked and ready to heat up
While the beans are heating up, start working on the sauce.
Making the Sauce
In a medium sized pot put the water, tomato sauce, honey, mustard, and the brown sugar.
sauce coming together
Bring this to a boil, stirring frequently. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
Using a canning funnel, divide the beans between the 8 jars. It should be about 1/2 cup or so of beans.
Now, divide the onions evenly among the jars.
Then add 1 piece of salt pork or bacon to each jar.
adding the salt pork
And add about one cup of sauce to each jar of beans. Divide it among them evenly.
We need a one inch headspace here, so fill the jars with boiling water to get to that one inch mark.
sauce in and topped up with boiling water
Then release the trapped air with a thin knife or bubble popper, and top off with boiling water if needed.
Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean dry cloth or paper towel to make sure it’s clean.
With your lid lifter, pull out the lids and put them on the jars. Screw the rings on finger tight.
Now take that water the lids and rings were in and pour that into the canner, adding a splash of white vinegar if you have hard water.
Then put the jars into the canner.
Processing
into the canner they go!
Put the lid on and seal it and turn the heat to high.
Allow the canner to vent for the specified length of time for your canner.
Now put the regulator on the air vent and bring it up to pressure.
Once it has reached the required pressure, start your timer.
Process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.
Don’t forget to adjust the processing pressure for your altitude.
When the processing time is up, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to return to zero.
Once the pressure is zero, remove the regulator and wait another 5 to 10 minutes before unsealing the lid.
Make sure the lid is facing away from you when you open the canner.
After processing, remove the jars from the canner and allow to sit undisturbed for a minimum of 12 hours.
and done!
After 12 hours, check the seals, wash and label the jars, and put them away.
These store really well in a dark cool place for up to 2 years.
You can eat them straight out of the jar, or heat them up on the stove top or in the oven.
Or you can put them in a pan and put them on the grill with the other things you are fixing for dinner. That’s the way I usually do it. 🙂
You could even put them in the smoker with meat you are smoking. That makes these Pork ‘n’ Beans pretty darn amazing!
Canning Pork 'n' Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds navy or great northern beans
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 pints of homemade tomato sauce OR 2 (15-ounce) cans
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons salt (optional)
- 8 pieces 2" each bacon salt pork, or fatback
Instructions
- In a large pot or gallon jar, add the beans and enough water to cover by at least 3 inches. Let these soak for 10 to 12 hours.
- Prepare your jars and lids and keep them hot until needed. Check the air vent and overlock on the canner lid to make sure they are not blocked.
- After the beans have soaked for at least 10 hours, rinse them under running water.
- Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 30 minutes.
Sauce
- In a medium sized pot put the water, tomato sauce, honey, mustard, and the brown sugar.
- Bring this to a boil, stirring frequently. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Using a canning funnel, divide the beans between the 8 jars. It should be about 1/2 cup or so of beans.
- Divide the onions evenly among the jars. Then add about one cup of sauce to each jar of beans. Divide it among them evenly.
- Finally, add 1 piece of salt pork or bacon. Kinda push it down under the sauce.
- Fill the jars with boiling water leaving 1 inch of headspace, then release the trapped air with a thin knife or bubble popper, and top off with boiling water if needed.
- Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean dry cloth or paper towel to make sure it’s clean.
- Add the lids and screw the rings on finger tight.
- Put the correct amount of water in your canner following your manufacturer's directions and put the filled jars in.
- Close and seal the lid and turn the heat to high. Allow the canner to vent for the specified length of time for your canner.
- Now put the regulator on the air vent and bring it up to pressure. Once it has reached the required pressure, start your timer.
- Process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes. Don’t forget to adjust the processing pressure for your altitude.
- After processing, remove the jars from the canner and allow to sit undisturbed for a minimum of 12 hours.
- After 12 hours, check the seals, wash and label the jars, and put them away.
Sharon says
Do you let your beans soak overnight in the fridge or on the counter or stove?
Cery says
Hey Sharon!
I leave on the counter top.
Jolee says
I like that this recipe is very detailed and inclusive for beginning canners. Beans can be tricky. Kudos to the author and cook. With inflation and beans costing over $2 a can, it’s so much better to make your own. I bought 2 pounds of dried beans for a little over 2$. Great protein and good for a side dish.
Cery says
Thank you, Jolee!
Kayla says
Okay probably a silly question but do you cook the bacon before?
Cery says
Hi Kayla!
No silly questions here. I usually put it in raw, but you can absolutely use cooked bacon if you have some around.
Cery