Canned Navy Beans with Molasses and Ham
These canned beans have a light molasses sauce. You can add a small amount of smoky ham or bacon (or skip this for vegetarian or vegan beans). Canning your own dried beans at home saves a lot of time, as you can batch cook them and then they’re ready to eat whenever you want them for a recipe. These molasses beans are more flavorful than plain canned beans... enjoy them plain, or add more molasses, brown sugar, or your favorite BBQ sauce for quick and easy homemade baked beans whenever you want them!
Equipment
- large pot
- glass canning jars, rings, and new lids
- canning funnel (optional but helpful)
Ingredients
Navy Beans
- 5 lbs dried navy beans (for 7 quarts or 14-16 pints, approx 12 oz dried beans before soaking per quart jar)
- water to soak
- water or broth to simmer
Molasses Sauce
- 6-8 cups warm water (you can substitute stock, bean cooking liquid, or ham broth for more flavor)
- 6 tbsp dark molasses
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp salt (substitute smoked salt for vegetarian or vegan beans, or for a deeper smoky flavor)
- 1 ½ tsp dried mustard powder
- ¼ tsp ground allspice (optional)
- ¼ tsp ground clove (optional)
Pork (optional)
- 14 3/4" pieces diced ham (substitute equivalent quantity of bacon or salt pork, no more than a 3/4" cube per jar)
Instructions
clean & pre-soak your beans:
- Pick through your dried beans, checking for any small stones, twigs, or other foreign matter. Remove these if present and rinse your dried beans thoroughly. Stir the pot of water and discard any hollow beans that float (these may have pest damage or be empty hulls).
- Drain the rinse water and then refill and soak your pot of beans using one of the following methods:
- Overnight Soak Method: Soak rinsed beans in a large pot of water with plenty of room for the beans to expand (the pot should be no more than 1/2 to 3/5ths full of dried beans before adding water). Cover and let soak in a cool place for 12-18 hours (refrigerate if your kitchen is hot).
- Quick Soak Method: Proceed as for the overnight soak, but bring the pot of beans and water to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let soak for at least an hour.
simmer the soaked beans:
- After your beans have soaked overnight (or heated and quick-soaked), drain and rinse them gently.
- Refill the pot with clean water to cover the beans by at least 2″.
- Bring to a low boil over medium heat, gently stirring periodically so they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer the beans for thirty minutes before hot-packing them into your canning jars.
prep pressure canner & jars:
- Wash your canning jars and new canning lids in hot soapy water and rinse well.
- If you are using reusable lids (like Tattler or Harvest Guard, or Weck jars), follow manufacturer directions to prepare lids and rings.
- Fill your pressure canner with the recommended amount of water (check your canner manual, but at least several inches for this long processing time) and preheat it.
- Preheat the jars in the canner on low-medium heat while the beans simmer (see next step), or keep them hot in your oven, dishwasher, or using your preferred method.
prepare molasses sauce:
- Measure molasses, mustard powder, vinegar, optional seasonings (ground spices), and warm water, stock, or bean cooking broth into a saucepan (or microwave-safe container).
- Stir until all ingredients are dissolved, and bring up to a low simmer over medium heat (or carefully microwave until hot).
- If you are adding ham, bacon, or salt pork to your jars, cut these into 3/4" cubes (or an equivalent amount of smaller pieces). Do not use larger chunks than this, as cured meats are dense and the recipe was tested for pieces this size or smaller, and only add one per jar. Keep meat cold until you're ready to fill the jars.
pack beans in jars:
- Using a jar funnel and a slotted spoon, fill your quart or pint jars no more than 3/4 full with the hot simmered beans. You can drain the beans first if this is easier (or if you are using the cooking liquid to make the sauce) but reserve the liquid in case you need to top up the jars after adding the molasses sauce).
- If you are adding pork, add one 3/4" cube of diced ham, bacon, or salt pork to each jar (or an equivalent volume of smaller pieces).
- Divide the hot cooking broth among the jars, leaving 1″ of headspace below the rim at the top of the jar. If you don’t have enough bean cooking liquid, top the jars up with boiling water or stock.
- Debubble the jars with a small spatula, chopstick, or butter knife. Top up with additional molasses sauce, bean cooking liquid, or hot water if necessary to maintain proper 1" headspace.
- Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel.
- Top with new canning lids (or properly prepared reusable lids). Tighten the rings finger-tight (or according to manufacturer directions).
pressure-can the beans:
- Place the hot jars in the preheated pressure canner and seal the lid. Heat on medium heat. Vent the canner for 10 minutes once it starts steaming, then add the weight and bring the canner up to pressure over medium low heat.
- Process at 10 lbs of pressure (weighted canner) or 11 lbs (dial gauge). Adjust pressure as needed for your altitude over 1000 sf (important, see notes below).
- Reset processing timer to zero if canner pressure drops below minimum at any point during processing.
- Process for a full 60 minutes for pints, or 75 minutes for quarts or mixed batches of pints and quarts.
- Turn off the heat after the processing time is up. Let the canner rest undisturbed until the pressure returns to zero- do not remove the weight early to vent the steam faster or your jars may siphon or break.
- As soon as the pressure releases completely, carefully remove the canner lid.
Cool, check seals, and store:
- Wait another couple minutes, then remove the jars with jar tongs or hot pads, and place them on a towel or cooling rack. Cover jars with a towel if there are cold drafts.
- Leave undisturbed overnight or for at least 8-12 hours when the jars are fully cooled.
- Remove the rings, check for seals, and wash the jars with warm, soapy water.
- Refrigerate any jars of canned beans that did not seal and use those jars promptly. You could reprocess them with new lids within 24 hours of the first processing. You can also transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze.
Notes
Altitude adjustments:
- For weighted canners, use 15 lbs at altitudes over 1000 ft.
- For dial gauge canners, use 11 lbs from 0-2000 ft, 12 lbs from 2001-4000 ft, 13 lb at 4001-6000 ft, and 14 lbs from 6001-8000 ft elevation).
Vegetarian or Vegan version:
Omit the pork. Use water or vegetable stock in the molasses sauce. You can add up to a half teaspoon of Liquid Smoke to the molasses sauce, or substitute smoked salt for the regular salt in the jars to add a smoky flavor.Storage and Safety Tips:
Label the jars and store in a cool, dark place. For best quality, enjoy most home-canned goods within 12-18 months, although they will be safe to eat while the seals are intact. Nutritional value and flavor declines slightly with longer storage (or improper storage conditions). Discard the contents of any jars that lose seals in storage, smell off, are bubbling, or hiss when opened, and sterilize the jar before using them again.Nutrition Information:
Nutritional values are per pint for a yield of 16 pints, and a rough estimate using the suggested ingredients, water or bean cooking liquid in the sauce, and 6 total ounces of ham. All nutritional information should be considered an estimate for informational purposes and not an exact calculation.Nutrition
Calories: 512kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 34gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 445mgPotassium: 1793mgFiber: 35gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 0.3IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 229mgIron: 8mg
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