Challenge: We love Boston baked beans but not the oversweetened, mushy, chalky-tasting beans that come in cans. We wanted to develop a master recipe with old-fashioned flavor. As we made some of the ...

Most British recipes for Boston baked beans just use a piece of pork belly, but we think it needs some salted or smoked meat to counteract the sweetness, so we include bacon or pancetta.

There's also a theory that it comes from a traditional dish out of North Africa and Spain, and still another says Boston ...