Grandma's Brown Beans

Ingredients

• 6 cup small red beans (Measure before cooking; sort and soak overnight.)
• 1 tbsp salt (Add when beans are nearly soft.)
• 1 cup white sugar (Add when beans are nearly soft.)
• 1 tsp baking soda (For reducing gas; add with the later ingredients.)
• 1 cup brown sugar (Add with the later ingredients.)
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (One can.)
• 1 qt cream
• butter (Optional; add a little if desired.)
• cornstarch (Optional; mix with water and stir into the beans if the sauce needs thickening. Amount as needed.)
• water (For soaking and cooking the beans, and for mixing with cornstarch if needed; use enough to cover beans by about 4 inches and keep them covered.)

Steps

1. 1

   Sort the dry beans in batches of about 1 cup, removing any debris such as pebbles or dirt clods.

2. 2

   Soak the beans overnight.

3. 3

   Rinse the soaked beans. Cover them with water to about 4 inches above the beans and bring to a boil.

4. 4

   Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the beans soak overnight. Add water as needed to keep them covered while they cook.

5. 5

   Cook the beans on the stovetop until they are getting soft and nearly tender. The recipe also allows cooking the beans in an electric pressure cooker according to the manufacturer's directions.

6. 6

   Add the salt and white sugar. Continue cooking on the stovetop until the beans are soft.

7. 7

   Stir in the baking soda, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and cream. Add a little butter if desired.

8. 8

   Cover and cook in an oven preheated to 300°F (150°C) until thoroughly cooked, about 2 hours. Taste as it continues to cook, taking care not to burn your tongue.

9. 9

   If the sauce is too thin after slow cooking, mix cornstarch with water and stir it into the beans until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

10. 10

    Serve, or store in the refrigerator. The beans freeze well.

Notes

Serves 30 and yields about 1 gallon. The stated 3–4 hour cook time excludes soaking and cooking the beans; the recipe also gives about 2 hours for the covered oven stage. The source does not specify an amount of butter, cornstarch, or thickening water. It describes this as a sweet dish traditionally made for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Nutrition per serving

• side
• vegetarian
• gluten-free
• slow-cooked
• oven-baked
• holiday
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas