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1
Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 1-inch and cover with plastic wrap.
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2
Refrigerate overnight.
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3
Drain and rinse the beans and then drain again.
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4
Place the beans in large pot with 2 quarts water, the onion, bay leaf, and peppercorns.
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5
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 50 minutes, or until tender.
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6
A good test is to scoop up several beans in a spoon and blow on them: if the skin starts to peel off, they're done.
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7
Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.
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8
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
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9
In a small saucepan, whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, chili paste, ginger, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid, still reserving the remaining liquid.
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10
Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for 6 minutes.
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11
Transfer the beans to a medium Dutch oven or a bean pot.
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12
Push half the bacon into the beans and place the rest on the top.
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13
Pour the maple syrup sauce over the beans.
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14
Place the lid on top and bake for 6 to 8 hours.
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15
Check occasionally; if the beans are too dry, add 1/2 cup more of the cooking liquid.
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16
If you like, you can remove the lid for the last 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.
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17
Discard the bay leaf.
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18
Serve hot.
