Pressure Canning Pork and Beans – A Step by Step Guide

Pork and Beans go with pretty much anything you can grill, smoke, or barbeque! Make up a batch exactly the way you like ’em and pressure can them for later.

Pork ‘n’ Beans.

The ubiquitous backyard cook-out side dish for all occasions.

They are good hot or cold and they go equally well with hamburgers or smoked brisket or barbequed pork.

I grew up eating cans of pork and beans every time we had hamburgers or pretty much anything grilled. And so did my kids. They have always been a family favorite!

Funny thing is, we always “doctored ’em up” as grandma used to say.

So now I make Pork and Beans exactly the way we like to eat them and then pressure can and add them to my canning pantry.

I use salt pork when I make these, so I don’t add any additional salt.

And I use my homemade tomato sauce, but I added commercially canned stuff to the recipe just in case you didn’t have any of your own.

Yet.

If you buy your beans in bulk, like in 10 or 20 lbs bags, you can process a large amount quite cheaply. 

I like having dried beans in my food storage, but I also like to have lots of jars of already cooked beans. You can process plain beans using just water and salt following the same directions given here.

If you are new to canning or just need a refresher, check out Home Canning Basics: How to Safely Can Food at Home.

Pork and Beans

This homemade pork and beans recipe makes 8 pints

Ingredients

• 2 pounds navy or great northern beans
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 pints of homemade tomato sauce , OR 2 (15-ounce) cans
• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons sea salt, (optional)
• 8 pieces about 2″ each of bacon, salt pork, or fatback
• 8 pint canning jars
• 8 rings/screw bands and new lids
• lid lifter/magnetic wand
• jar lifter
• canning funnel
• bubble popper
• old towels
• and, of course, a pressure canner

Instructions

Prepare the beans

You need to start off by soaking the dry beans. So in a large pot or gallon jar, add the beans and enough water to cover by at least 3 inches.

Let these soak for 10 to 12 hours. I let them soak overnight, usually.

After the beans have soaked for at least 10 hours, rinse them under running water and let them drain in a colander or strainer.

Prepare your jars and lids and keep them hot until needed. Check the air vent and overlock on the canner lid to make sure they are not blocked.

Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 30 minutes.

While the beans are heating up, start working on the sauce.

Making the Sauce for Pork and Beans

In a medium sized pot put the water, tomato sauce, honey, mustard, and the brown sugar. Give the sauce a quick taste. It should be just a tad salty to season the beans. If you are not using salt pork you may need to add a little more salt.

If you like a spicy flavor to your pork and beans, add a splash of your favorite hot sauce.

Bring this to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Using a canning funnel, divide the beans between the 8 pint jars. It should be about 1/2 cup or so of beans.

Then add 1 piece of salt pork or bacon to each jar.

Now, divide the onions evenly among the jars.

And add about one cup of sauce to each jar of beans. Divide it among them evenly.

We need a one inch headspace here, so fill the jars with boiling water to make enough liquid to get to that one inch mark.

Then release the trapped air with a thin knife or bubble popper, and top off with boiling water if needed.

Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean dry cloth to make sure it’s clean.

With your lid lifter, pull out the lids and put them on the jars. Screw the rings on finger tight.

Now take that water the lids and rings were in and pour that into the canner, adding a splash of white vinegar if you have hard water.

Then put the jars into the canner.

Processing Pork and Beans

Put the lid on and seal it and turn the heat to high.

Allow the canner to vent for the specified length of time for your canner.

Now put the regulator on the air vent and bring it up to pressure.

Once it has reached the required pressure, start your timer.

Process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.

Don’t forget to adjust the processing pressure for your altitude.

When the processing time is up, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to return to zero.

Once the pressure is zero, remove the regulator and wait another 5 to 10 minutes before unsealing the lid.

Make sure the lid is facing away from you when you open the canner.

After processing, remove the jars from the canner and allow to sit undisturbed for a minimum of 12 hours.

After 12 hours, check the seals, wash and label the jars, and put them away.

These store really well in a dark cool place for up to 2 years.

You can eat them straight out of the jar, or heat them up on the stove top or in the oven.

Or you can put them in a pan and put them on the grill with the other things you are fixing for dinner. That’s the way I usually do it. 

You could even put them in the smoker with meat you are smoking. That makes these Pork and Beans pretty darn amazing!

Frequently Asked Questions About Pork and Beans

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