Slow cooked, canned beans, with beer, bacon and maple syrup.
Easily made gluten free with changes. I find most gluten free beers are too strong in this recipe for my taste. If you used to drink dark ales, then you will be happy with a gluten free ale. Contrary to what we have been told, not all hard apple ciders are gluten free, some are fermented with barley. Woodchuck hard apple cider states on web site it is gluten free and tested to be gluten free, I like to use the Amber variety. I like to use a mustard that is actually labeled gluten free. We are told that the vinegar used in mustard making is distilled to be gluten free, but if the manufacturers aren’t willing to label it gluten free, I am not prepared to buy it.
One of my July 2011 recipes for National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, now Beyond Celiac.
I bought a selection of canned beans for variety, totaling 63 oz. Buy all the same bean or your favorites to roughly the same quantity. Make in advance and refrigerate.
29 oz pink beans, 19 oz cannellini, 15 oz Great Northern beans, canned, precooked, rinsed and drained. Just plain beans no sauces etc.
1 medium to large regular onion - peeled and finely chopped. Sweet Vidalia onions don’t give enough flavor for me.
½ packet Oscar Meyer center cut bacon or Jones Dairy Farm cherrywood smoked, (6oz total) scissored thin. Boars Head and Oscar Meyer bacon are meant to be gluten free..
½ c (4 oz, 112g) dark brown sugar - don’t substitute white sugar, you need dark brown for flavor.
¼ c (2 fl oz, 60 ml) maple syrup - I discovered that even though we can get maple syrup year round in NE, that’s not true for all states. Don’t substitute corn syrup, perhaps try honey or just some more brown sugar. The original recipe I got from a senior citizen that started with dried raw beans, used molasses and salt pork - the traditional way in NE.
½ c (4fl oz, 120 ml) gluten free tomato ketchup
1 tbsp (15 ml) gluten free hot pepper jelly (I use Trappist brand from Ma.) or relish, so choice is either vinegary or sweet.
3 tbsp (45 ml) gluten free Dijon mustard or different flavor of mustard. Koops label their mustards gluten free and do several flavors. I like to use a mustard that has some chipotle or other hot pepper as well.
½ tsp liquid smoke - optional - I don’t know if it is gluten free.
12 oz (375 ml) hard apple cider - or apple juice -or Redbridge GF beer, Bards GF beer, Daura European style GF lager.
12 oz (375 ml) water
pepper, no salt,
1. Depending on your slow cooker, either cook bacon in slow cooker or non stick pan until most of fat is runny. Add onions and cook until tender and starting to brown. I find bacon tends to stick if I try frying it in slow cooker.
2. Add rest of ingredients except for beans. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until sugar has melted.
3. Add drained beans, bring to a boil and transfer to slow cooker. Simmer, covered, on low for 4-6 hours or less. Then continue to step 4, or refrigerate and do step 4 on reheating beans. I buy Reynolds slow cooker liners at Amazon, makes for really easy just soapy water clean up.
4. I then put my slow cooker ceramic insert on stove (my slow cooker ceramic insert is heat resistant and can be removed from outer heating element and used on stove top or in oven) and simmer until excess liquid has evaporated away. I didn’t think beans needed any salt due to other ingredients.
Try adding less water so beans are thicker. In the end, it’s all up to your personal taste. I don’t like too salty or over sweet. I prefer a mild beer not dark beer. I also like complexity of flavors.
Note: if you have a slow cooker than can’t be put on a stovetop then reheat in slow cooker as usual but with lid off if you want some liquid to evaporate.
