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Smoky bacon beans

Recreate our recipe at home

The smoky bacon beans are a crowd-pleasing favourite at Woolsery Fish & Chips. Want to make them at home? Here’s the recipe.

Serves 8-10

  • Cold-pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil, 50ml
  • Dry cured and smoked Birch Farm pork belly, 100g, cut into lardons
  • Onions, 2, peeled and diced
  • Thyme, 2g
  • Oregano, 2g
  • Rosemary, 1g
  • Marjoram, 1g
  • Cornish pepper leaf, 1g
  • Bay leaf 1
  • Black pepper 1g
  • Paprika (hot or smoked) 25g
  • Smoked Cornish sea salt 12g
  • Tomato puree 50g
  • Dried borlotti beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Dried haricot blanc beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Organic split fava beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Chicken stock 1.2l
  • Chopped tomatoes 440g
  • Garlic 3 cloves, peeled and chopped
  • Sugar 30g
  • Ostler’s apple cider vinegar 50ml
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the bacon and fry until lightly golden brown. Turn the temperature down and add the onion, herbs, spices and a pinch of salt. Sweat the onion until soft.
  2. Add the tomato puree to the pan and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Drain the beans, add to the pan and stir through the fat, herbs and spices.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock. Transfer into a pressure cooker and cook for 35-40 minutes until the beans are tender.
  4. Crush the garlic, mix with a teaspoon of salt and stir through the beans.
  5. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar until golden brown. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then carefully stir in the apple cider vinegar. Return to the heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.
  6. Season the beans with the remaining salt and add the cider vinegar to taste.
  7. The smoky bacon beans will freeze well, so making this volume is an easy way to batch cook for cold winter evenings.

Serves 8-10

  • Cold-pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil, 50ml
  • Dry cured and smoked Birch Farm pork belly, 100g, cut into lardons
  • Onions, 2, peeled and diced
  • Thyme, 2g
  • Oregano, 2g
  • Rosemary, 1g
  • Marjoram, 1g
  • Cornish pepper leaf, 1g
  • Bay leaf 1
  • Black pepper 1g
  • Paprika (hot or smoked) 25g
  • Smoked Cornish sea salt 12g
  • Tomato puree 50g
  • Dried borlotti beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Dried haricot blanc beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Organic split fava beans 300g, soaked overnight in water
  • Chicken stock 1.2l
  • Chopped tomatoes 440g
  • Garlic 3 cloves, peeled and chopped
  • Sugar 30g
  • Ostler’s apple cider vinegar 50ml
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the bacon and fry until lightly golden brown. Turn the temperature down and add the onion, herbs, spices and a pinch of salt. Sweat the onion until soft.
  2. Add the tomato puree to the pan and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Drain the beans, add to the pan and stir through the fat, herbs and spices.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock. Transfer into a pressure cooker and cook for 35-40 minutes until the beans are tender.
  4. Crush the garlic, mix with a teaspoon of salt and stir through the beans.
  5. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar until golden brown. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then carefully stir in the apple cider vinegar. Return to the heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.
  6. Season the beans with the remaining salt and add the cider vinegar to taste.
  7. The smoky bacon beans will freeze well, so making this volume is an easy way to batch cook for cold winter evenings.

Ian’s tip: ‘This recipe uses a pressure cooker, but you could easily cook this on the hob for an hour or so, or even do a quick version by using tinned cooked beans'.

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Fish and chips ... but not as you know it