Salt pork rocks

Found a store that is selling salt pork for $0.99 a pound.

Now, if you have any poor folk in your background, you will know that salt pork is the best flavor maker on the planet. If your preps include a lot of beans, you will be livin' large come the day if you can include this wonderful stuff in your preps.

The stuff that I got is shrink wrapped in one pound chunks. It freezes perfect. if you toss around twenty or so of these in your freezer, you have any number of beans/rice recipes available to you. A little bit of spices and you have food fit for any decent redneck anywhere.

Damn Fine Beans

If you don't already have one, get a decent cast iron dutch oven for this recipe.

2 to 3 quarts fresh spring or tap water.
2 lbs dried Great Northern, Navy, Pea, or other small favorite dried bean if available.

Soak the beans overnight in the water in a separate glass or ceramic bowl. if you have boys in the 9-16 year old range, keep the water for cooking and your boys can entertain themselves to no end with the final results, if flatulence isn't your thing, dump the water and move on.

1 lb. salt pork chopped into ½ inch cubes

Sauté the salt pork in the dutch oven until it is nice and crispy and you get a nice crust on the bottom of the dutch oven. When you get the crispin's on the bottom of the dutch oven, take the oven off the burner, wait a minute and dump in:

¼ cup water mixed with ¼ cup dark rum

Then stir the bottom of the dutch oven to make sure all the good tastin' stuff is knocked loose. Then stir in the soaked beans (with all the water off of them and stir thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, mix up the following:

½ cups dried onion.
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
¼ cup apple cider vinegar.
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 x 6 oz can of tomato paste.
¼ cup maple syrup.
1 cup dark molasses.
¾ cup dark brown sugar.
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoon dry mustard .
2 teaspoons pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red chiles

When you get it all mixed, dump it on top of the beans and mix everything up thoroughly. You might need to add more water to bring the level of the fluid to about a half inch over the level of the beans. If you are using the soaking water to entertain, be careful, the stuff is dynamite. If you add water, make sure everything is mixed well in the pot before you put the top on. Make sure that the pot has at least an inch or two from the top, this stuff spatters.

Cook in a slow oven for 5-6 hours or until the beans are the way you like them.