Baked Jacob's Cattle Beans

Today we made:

Baked Jacob’s Cattle Beans:

1 lb Dry Jacob’s Cattle Beans
1/4 lb. Salt pork
1 Medium onion
½ T Dry mustard
¼ C Light brown sugar
1/3 Dark amber Maple syrup
1/2 t Black pepper

Pressure cooker
Bean pot or 3-4 covered casserole

Wash and soak beans overnight. Drain and put in pressure cooker with six cups of water; bring to full pressure, turn off, and let pressure fall naturally. Drain, saving 1 ¾ cup liquid. Peel onion and put in bottom of bean pot; add beans. Mix bean liquid, mustard, sugar, syrup, and pepper together. Pour onto beans. Make deep gashes in the salt pork, and place on beans, rind side up. Bake in 300 degree F oven covered for 5-7 hours. Add additional liquid if necessary. Uncover last 30 minutes to brown pork.

Absolutely fantastic with broiled Ball Park Franks (too wet to grill), and salad mostly from our garden. Mmmmm good.

[Jenise]

Sounds delicious, Carl. But only 1/2 a tsp of dry mustard? I would think so little would have gotten completely lost.

Sounds delicious, Carl. But only 1/2 a tsp of dry mustard? I would think so little would have gotten completely lost.

A capital T means a Tablespoon; and a small t means a teaspoon. If you are not familiar with these it is because I am much older than you!

[Jenise]

Carl--my mother's recipes were all written that way, should have caught it myself.

Two questions...
What are Cattle Beans and what if I refuse to use a pressure cooker?

Two questions...
What are Cattle Beans and what if I refuse to use a pressure cooker?

Cow food and you won't explode?

Two questions...
What are Cattle Beans and what if I refuse to use a pressure cooker?

They are Jacob's Cattle Beans and are available in any super market where you are in the dry bean section. You can just boil them after soaking until they are soft.

I've never seen this bean in a super market around here. I source mine through Purcell Mountain Farms. Rancho Gordo does not always have them. It is an heirloom bean and originally from Germany and is also known as Trout or Dalmatian Bean. It is a sweet bean with maroon and white markings. I've made the following recipe with them. They get better if left for the next day. It seems that beans can have many names depending on who is selling them.

Jacob’s Cattle Bacon Baked Beans

Also called a Trout bean or an Appaloosa bean, Jacob’s Cattle is plump and robust, with a strong flavor that holds up well to long cooking and bold flavors. Bring out its depth with smoky bacon, spicy mustards and a bit of ginger.

Ingredients

1 pound dried Jacob’s Cattle beans, cooked, cooking liquid reserved
½ pound smoked bacon, chopped
1 cup finely diced onion
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon dried ginger
Sea salt, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine all ingredients in a large oven-safe stockpot or casserole dish. Add about 4 cups of reserved bean cooking liquid; it should be enough to cover all ingredients completely. Cover and place in oven. Cook 3 hours, stirring every hour and adding a bit of extra reserved bean cooking liquid as needed to prevent drying out. Serve warm