Independence Day All-American Baked Beans

Step 1: Rinse and pick through the beans. Soak them overnight in a large pot of water.

Step 2: Rinse the soaked beans well under cold water, and place them in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 300-degrees Farenheit.

Step 4: Place a 2-quart flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat and saute the bacon until it is slightly crisp and fat is rendered, 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until wilted, 5 to 10 minutes (Refer to NOTE II, below).

Step 5: Add the brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until it has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, syrup, molasses, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Add the drained beans and mix well.

Step 6: Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Bake, stirring occasionally (making sure you scrape the bottom of the casserole), for 2 1/2 hours.

Step 7: Add 3/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid, recover, and bake 30 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake until the sauce is thick and syrupy, another 10 - 15 minutes, stirring once. Serve hot.

Step 8: *NOTE I: I sometimes cut down on the sugar depending on the level of sweetness that you or your guests like.

Step 9: Normally, I make these ahead (up to 2 - 3 days ahead, keeping them refrigerated) and then warm them up in a crock-pot where it is directly served out of the crockpot.*

NOTE II: I normally use more onion (2-3 large onions). I cook it down until it's golden and caramelized concentrating the flavor, but cooking it for less is perfectly fine too. If I cook it longer, I add the garlic towards the end of of cooking time (10-15 minutes), so as to not have the garlic burn and turn bitter.