OLD FASHION OVEN RECIPES

Steps:

• THE NIGHT BEFORE:.
• Wash & sort beans for any small stones.
• Place in a large kettle & cover with water, about 3 inches above the beans.
• Cover & soak overnight.
• THE NEXT MORNING:.
• Drain & add 6 cups fresh cold water.
• Stir in the baking soda (this helps remove the "music" afterwards, but no guarantees. LOL!).
• Cover & bring to a boil -- WATCH CAREFULLY so as to not boil over!
• Reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
• Drain & reserve the bean water.
• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Add remaing ingredients plus 2 cups of the reserved bean water.
• Place everything into the bean pot (or whatever you're using) & cover.
• (Use double-thick aluminum foil to cover if need to.).
• Bake for 3 to 4 hours.
• IMPORTANT: Check every couple of hours, adding more bean water if needed, so the beans don't cook dry.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
• Melt lard in cast iron dutch oven, or very heavy bottomed pot with lid, over medium high heat.
• Salt and pepper all sides of pork roast.
• When lard just begins to give off smell of being hot, place roast in pot.
• DO NOT move it for a minute or so, then rotate it to brown all sides.
• Lay garlic cloves and onion slices around the roast and stir to brown them a bit.
• Mix Kitchen Bouquet into the 2 cups of water.
• Pour in the water mixture.
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover tightly and place in lower portion of the oven.
• Roast 1 hour for boneless roast; 1-3/4 hours for bone-in roast.
• Half-way through roasting time turn the roast over.
• Remove roast from pan and cover to keep hot.
• Mix 2 Tablespoons cornstarch into 1/2 cup water.
• Using a whisk, stir the cornstarch mixture into the pot drippings, breaking up the garlic cloves as you mix.
• Bring to a boil, taste and season if needed with salt and/or pepper.
• NOTE: Pork roast made this way is ALWAYS tender.
• It makes wonderful hot pork sandwiches!
• The gravy is out of this world!