Van Camp’s is an American brand of canned bean products currently owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Their products typically consist of beans stewed in a flavored sauce. Van Camp’s has for some time been the second-best selling brand of baked beans in the United States, competing with Bush’s Baked Beans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Camp%27s
This is the last entry on the baked beans branch of my journey through beans. I set out to create a “copycat” recipe for Van Camp’s pork and beans, not necessarily expecting to wind up with a canning recipe, but low and behold most of the recipes I found were A) for home canning of pork and beans, and B)consistent enough that I felt confident that my final recipe would be safe to share with the world as a canning recipe.
I believe this was the first time in my life I ever used a pressure canner. I purchased an electric model (think giant Insta-Pot) from Amazon * . It seems to work well. However it only holds 5 pints jars (or 4 quarts) at once, and requires an hour to cool down before you can open it to remove the jars, so it’s really not the tool for canning large batches to fill your pantry.
The beans start with a quick soak, followed by par boiling for half an hour or so. Then they are added to the jars along with some salt pork and onion, and covered with the sauce. I did wind up with more beans than I needed to fill six pint jars. I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly, but you probably will still have a few extra. I figure better to have some leftover beans for another purpose than not have enough to fill your jars.
I also probably should have put fewer beans in each jar. I filled them to the shoulders and then added sauce to cover the beans, but the beans absorbed a lot of the liquid, so the top layers look dry in the jars. If I make these again I will try to put ¼-⅓ cup fewer beans in each jar, but still add liquid to the same level and see if they come out better. Since I can’t really go back and fix this batch, I simply added a little water when I reheated the beans.
Taste wise, these aren’t anything spectacular, but they do taste very close to Van Camp’s pork and beans, so they will make a good side for your barbecue or starting point for your favorite baked bean based recipes.
If you are new to canning, please do some further reading on canning basics to learn the dos and don’t of safe canning. That said, here are a few of what I consider the most relevant points:
- High acid foods, like pickles or tomatoes can be canned in a water bath canner. The jars are submerged in boiling water and processed for a specified time. Because baked beans are a low acid food they must be canned in a pressure canner to ensure that any bacteria are killed.
- Use only approved canning jars. These are thicker and sturdier than most of the glass jars you purchase food in at the store, designed to hold up to the canning process. Make sure there are no nicks in the rim, and wash them with hot soapy water, and sterilize them with boiling water or in a dishwasher before use.
- Always use new lids for canning. Jars and rings can be reused, but using new lids will ensure the the seal isn’t compromised. Modern lids do not need to be heated before being placed on the jar.
Home Canned Baked Beans
Yield: 6 pints
Hands on time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 4-5 hours
4 cups dry navy beans
1 ¼ cup finely diced onion
⅓ lb salt pork, diced
1 Tablespoon salt
4 ¼ Tablespoons molasses
1 ¾ Tablespoons prepared mustard
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups ketchup
Optional:
½ lb ham, in place of salt pork
½ cup BBQ sauce
Slab bacon, in place of salt pork
6 ¼ cups tomato sauce
2 ¼ cups tomato juice
1 ⅔ Tablespooons sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
Pick over your beans, removing any bad beans or foreign objects. Rinse, drain and put in a pot. Cover with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and let soak for 2 hours. Drain the water, rinse again, and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the beans again, reserving the cooking water and keeping it hot.
Meanwhile wash and sterilize 6 pint canning jars, and prepare your pressure canner, following manufacturers instructions.
Place ½ cup of beans in each jar, then add 3-4 Tablespoons of onion to each jar, along with 1-2 pieces of salt pork. Divide remaining beans among the jars, leaving about 1 ½ inches of head space (you may not use all the beans).
Combine salt, molasses, mustard, brown sugar, ketchup and 2 cups of bean cooking liquid in a sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Boil for one minute. Divide evenly between the jars of beans, and add additional boiling bean liquid as needed to fill jars, leaving 1 inch head space. Put lids and rings on jars, tightening finger tight.
Process, following your pressure canner’s directions, for 65 minutes. Allow canner to cool, or follow manufacturers instructions to release pressure, then remove the jars and allow to cool completely before checking seals.
Label and date your jars and store in a cool, dry place.
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Lorin cooks Legumes 
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