Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 2½ – 6½ hours
Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 lb dried lima beans, soaked overnight
1 small onion, sliced
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp dry mustard
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp white vinegar 1 tbsp ketchup 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 lb bacon, sliced in half width-wise (for shorter slices to fit the pan)

Instructions

Put the soaked lima beans and the sliced onion in a large pot with enough water to cover them, plus a couple inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender (about 1 to 2 hours).

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, salt, dry mustard and pepper. In another bowl, mix the vinegar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Combine the dry and wet ingredients, then add the entire mixture to the lima beans, stirring until combined.

Transfer the bean mixture to a deep baking dish. (A 2-quart casserole should work well here.) Add enough water to the beans to cover them well.

Lay the bacon strips across the top of the beans to cover them. Sprinkle with some more brown sugar.

At this point, there are two ways to go about baking your beans:

• June's version—Bake for 1½ hours at 300° in the oven.
• John's version—Bake long hours in a slow oven, as you would for Boston baked beans (i.e. 3½ to 4½ hours).