Starting with the 1 pound of dry beans, pick through them, removing any debris, broken, or shriveled beans. Rinse under cold water, then place into a pot of clean, cold water, at least 6 cups or so. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, cover, and remove from the heat, and let sit for at least an hour.

Alternatively, you can place the beans into a pot of cold water and let them soak overnight.

Once soaked, drain the beans, and rinse them again. Place back into the pot with a fresh 6 cups or so of cold water with a bit of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for an hour.

When the beans have about 30 minutes left, start preparing the rest of the ingredients and preheat your oven to 325°F / 160°C.

In a Dutch oven, or oven safe pot, add 8 slices of diced bacon and cook on medium heat until crispy, about 10 minutes or so. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon, and set on a paper towel lined plate to soak up some of the grease.

Add the diced sweet onion and diced poblano into the pot with the bacon grease and cook until softened, about 7-8 minutes.

Once softened, add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 chopped chipotle chilis, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika. Stir everything together and continue cooking for another minute or two.

Now add the 8oz can of tomato sauce, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Stir together until the brown sugar dissolves.

Once the beans are done, drain them and reserve the cooking water. Add the beans and reserved bacon into the Dutch oven with the rest of the ingredients along with 1 ½ cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Stir together, cover the Dutch oven, and place into the oven.

Bake for two hours, then remove the lid and give everything a stir, adding more liquid if needed (I added another ½ - 1 cup of the bean water). Return to the oven and continue baking another 30 minutes uncovered to thicken everything up. At this point, give the baked beans a taste. Add more salt and pepper if needed, more water if they’re a bit dry, and continue cooking if the beans aren’t soft enough.

All dry beans are a bit different, so adjust the amount of water you need and the cooking time until they’re tender enough. I prefer a thicker baked bean dish and beans with a bit of bite to them. If you like a soupier baked bean dish, use more water at the start and add more when removing the cover.

Once finished baking, you can serve immediately, or wait until completely cooled and refrigerate until ready to serve. You can reheat small servings in the microwave or reheat the entire dish on the stovetop or oven. Add a bit of water when reheating to loosen everything up.