We called this main of baked beans with pork chops “Newfoundland Cassoulet,” because our guest on this episode, Zita Cobb, of the Shorefast Foundation, is a world traveller who loves the traditional peasant dishes of western European countries like Spain, Portugal, and France. She also loves Newfoundland and Labrador’s traditional recipes and, in fact, she and I grew up eating many of the same dishes: baked beans with pork, pan-fried cod, fish and brewis, and Jiggs’ dinner. So the “cassoulet” reference was meant as a joke and a tip of the hat to Zita’s affinity for the Toulouse version of baked beans with pork, which is called cassoulet.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 ml) white navy beans
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) brown sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) ketchup
- 2 tsp (10 ml) dry mustard
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) cider vinegar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
- ½ tsp (2 ml) black pepper
- 1 cup (250 ml) boiled water
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 lb (454 g) slab bacon, cut in ½-inch (10 mm) slices
- 4 pork chops, seasoned with salt and pepper
How to Make It
- Soak white navy beans in cold water overnight. The next day, pour off soaking water. Bring fresh water and beans to a boil and cook at low boil for 45 minutes. Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid. Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C).
- In a mixing bowl, stir together brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and boiled water. Stir this mixture through the cooked beans.
- Place sliced onion on bottom of a heavy baking pot. Pour beans over onions. Pour only enough of the reserved cooking liquid over the beans to cover them. Arrange the slices of slab bacon on top of beans. Cover and bake for 6 hours. Check occasionally to see if beans are drying and need more water.
- Remove cover and add seasoned pork chops to top of beans. Cover again and cook for 1 hour. Serve with fresh buttered rolls.
