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1
Wash and pick through the beans.
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2
Place in a large pot, cover with a few inches of water and bring to a boil.
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3
Boil hard for 2 minutes, remove from heat and let sit covered for 1 hour.
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4
Drain in a colander and rinse and dry pot to use again.
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5
Heat pot over medium heat and add bacon, cooking to almost crisp.
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6
You may remove most of the rendered fat but I like to leave it in for the flavour.
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7
Add onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute a couple more minutes until both are softening but not brown.
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8
Add 4 cups of the water, the molasses, syrup, chile sauce, mustard, worcestershire and pepper.
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9
Bring to a boil.
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10
IMPORTANT: do not add any salt or the vinegar.
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11
These must be added at the very end or the beans may not soften.
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12
Add drained beans, bring to a boil again and then place in a large casserole dish or roaster and cover.
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13
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees.
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14
Check after 2 hours for doneness and for liquid level, then every half hour after that.
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15
If beans are not done but liquid is almost gone add a small amount of water.
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16
Don't add too much especially toward the end.
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17
When beans are very soft carefully stir in the vinegar and salt to taste.
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18
Let rest 20 minutes before serving.
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19
I like to transfer these to a crockpot when they are almost all soft and keep on low for a few hours, checking now and then.
