troy2000
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Here's a reprise and update of a post from another forum a few years ago...
Bean-hole beans are baked beans cooked in a hole in the ground, in a dutch oven or any heavy old pot with a tight lid. You burn firewood in a hole a couple of feet deep and wide enough for a few inches of clearance around your pot, until you have a good layer of coals (or use charcoal). Put your pre-soaked navy beans or other white beans in the pot, layering them with sliced onions and bacon, and pour in boiling water to cover, mixed with dark molasses and seasonings. Some people use salt pork, and smoked ham hocks are good too. The seasonings usually include mustard, and maybe brown sugar or even maple syrup. You don't want 'em disgustingly sweet, though.
Dig out about half of the coals and set your pot of beans in the hole, then fill the hole around the pot with the coals you dug out. Throw a wet gunny sack (or whatever; I've even used wetted paper chicken-feed sacks) over the pot to keep the dirt out of it, and cover it all back up with dirt.
Go fishing, or whatever. Come back anytime after six or eight hours (up to overnight or longer) and dig the pot up.
Some people have permanent bean holes in their back yard, lined with bricks or whatever. Since I work for a natural gas company and used to be a pipeliner, I have a chunk of steel pipe in the ground behind my house, surrounded by gravel. My theory was that the pea gravel would hold heat better than plain soil, but I wouldn't guarantee that's true. Maybe I should've gone with just the close-packed dirt. But the beans cook just fine....
Bean hole cooking is handy for hunting or fishing trips; I've used it many times at primitive campgrounds. I get up early before most folks are stirring, dig a hole and start a bed of coals in it, bury dinner in the ground, and take off - knowing I won't catch anything on fire, and knowing no one's going to find my dinner and swipe it it while I'm out fishing.
add: I've also used this method successfully to cook chicken with potatoes, carrots and onions. But I haven't delved deeply into cooking anything beyond beans. Maybe when I retire next year and have more time on my hands...
Bean-hole beans are baked beans cooked in a hole in the ground, in a dutch oven or any heavy old pot with a tight lid. You burn firewood in a hole a couple of feet deep and wide enough for a few inches of clearance around your pot, until you have a good layer of coals (or use charcoal). Put your pre-soaked navy beans or other white beans in the pot, layering them with sliced onions and bacon, and pour in boiling water to cover, mixed with dark molasses and seasonings. Some people use salt pork, and smoked ham hocks are good too. The seasonings usually include mustard, and maybe brown sugar or even maple syrup. You don't want 'em disgustingly sweet, though.
Dig out about half of the coals and set your pot of beans in the hole, then fill the hole around the pot with the coals you dug out. Throw a wet gunny sack (or whatever; I've even used wetted paper chicken-feed sacks) over the pot to keep the dirt out of it, and cover it all back up with dirt.
Go fishing, or whatever. Come back anytime after six or eight hours (up to overnight or longer) and dig the pot up.
Some people have permanent bean holes in their back yard, lined with bricks or whatever. Since I work for a natural gas company and used to be a pipeliner, I have a chunk of steel pipe in the ground behind my house, surrounded by gravel. My theory was that the pea gravel would hold heat better than plain soil, but I wouldn't guarantee that's true. Maybe I should've gone with just the close-packed dirt. But the beans cook just fine....
Bean hole cooking is handy for hunting or fishing trips; I've used it many times at primitive campgrounds. I get up early before most folks are stirring, dig a hole and start a bed of coals in it, bury dinner in the ground, and take off - knowing I won't catch anything on fire, and knowing no one's going to find my dinner and swipe it it while I'm out fishing.
add: I've also used this method successfully to cook chicken with potatoes, carrots and onions. But I haven't delved deeply into cooking anything beyond beans. Maybe when I retire next year and have more time on my hands...
