1 pound of navy beans, cleaned and sorted to remove any with black or darkened spots
1 cup catsup
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
1tsp salt
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 pound of side pork or slab bacon cut into 3/4" pieces
Soak the beans over night in water with about 2 tablespoons of soda. Drain and rinse well and re-drain. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then add to a bean pot or a covered casserole and place in the oven, center rack, at 300 degrees for 5/6 hours. After about four hours stir the beans and check a couple for tenderness. If the beans seem dry add a 1/2 cup of warm water and mix in before returning the pot to the oven to finish. Finished beans should be a somewhat soft-firm, not mushy, and the sauce should be somewhat thick but not pasty.
Just personal observations ....I use only dark brown sugar. The light stuff has had most of its character removed. I prefer straight navy beans, to say, great northerns or a bean blend. I like slab bacon as opposed to side pork because I like the smokiness that bacon imparts in the beans when finished and I like enough bacon so that when I am eating the beans I actually get a chunk every fork full of so. The half pound of bacon seems to be a good amount and the size of the dice is purely up to whoever is the cook. If beans are left over I let the pot cool completely then stir in some cool water so that the beans are in a loose gravy, then transfer them to a covered casserole and refrigerate until warmed again. Doing this assures that the re-heated beans won't be a thick blob.
That bean pot belonged to my great grandmother. I'm 70 and got it when my grandmother passed away at the age of 112 years. Her mother was well into the 100's when she passed away. My grandmother told me the history of the pot several times when I was a child and I marveled at how she made the beans and bread. She made bread by hand at 106 years old. A fall that year ended her up in a nursing home. I was sitting on her bed holding her hand when she took her last breath.