The Essential Guide to Canning Pork and Beans at Home

Canned Pork and Beans
Makes 6-8 pints

Ingredients:
2 pounds dry Great Northern White Beans (or Navy Beans)
1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 quart tomato juice

Directions:
Wash beans under cool running water and drain. Put beans in a large saucepan. Add water to cover beans by 2 inches and bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove beans from heat and let soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans and repeat and cover beans with water by 2 inches and bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes and drain.

Combine onion, sugar, salt, cloves, allspice, and tomato juice in a medium saucepan. Bring sauce to a boil.

Pack hot beans into hot jars to 3/4 full. Add 2 pieces of bacon. Ladle hot sauce over beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim with vinegar. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight. Place jars on the rack in pressure canner containing 2 inches of simmering water or up to the recommended mark. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Place lid on canner and turn to locked position. Adjust heat to medium-high. Vent steam for 10 minutes. Put weighted gauge on vent, bring pressure to 10 pounds (psi) (if using dial gauge 11 pounds psi). Process pint jars 1 hour and 15 minutes or quart jars 1 hour and 30 minutes. See note below.

Turn off heat and let the canner cool to zero pressure. Remove lid and wait and allow jars to cool for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not tighten bands if loose; cool 12-18 hours. Check seals, label, and store jars. If you have a jar that didn't seal place it in the refrigerator and use it within 3 to 4 days.

NOTE: Remember to check this recipe and all recipes with the National Center For Food Preservation before canning and go by their recommendations for your altitude for both pressure canning and water bath canning.