A few months ago in a column titled “Cooking Venison,” I shared some cooking tips for venison frying that I picked up from an outdoor cook who is, in my opinion, one of the best. My heart was warmed a little later by a telephone call from a man I didn’t know.

“Just tried some pan-fried venison tenderloins using your recipe for tea gravy,” he said.

The caller went on to explain that be had been cooking venison all of his life and thought he had it perfected … until he tried the tea-gravy technique.

For me, one of the pleasures of outdoor cooking is discovering a new or better way to do things. Most of the time, the better way to do things is learned from others. Over the years, I’ve made a point to watch experienced outdoor cooks, sample their culinary delights, ask lots of questions and take notes. And I always try to give credit where credit is due. The tea gravy and venison innovation I learned from a former Hampden resident and friend, Dana Young, an outdoor cook whose kitchen creations at times rise to sheer artistry.

There is, though, one dish that I can take most of the credit for: North Woods Beans.

In my youth, beans and home-baked yeast rolls were a weekend ritual. I grew up with baked beans on Saturday night. And as a young man on my own, I was unwilling to settle for B&M or any bean from a can. So I cooked baked beans. Lots of beans. I sampled the baked beans of others, and I experimented with my own beans over the years. If my bean pot were a used car, it would be on its third engine. It has seen a lot of miles. My children and grandchildren find their way to our home on Saturday nights more than any other night of the week.

To be blunt, the baked beans of others have not impressed me. Some are soupy and mediocre. Some are tasteless. Others are a dining experience akin to consuming a plate of molasses-coated bird shot.

So what follows is THE baked bean formula. North Wood Beans! The best you’ll ever eat. Trust me on this:

Soak in a bowl of water overnight (Friday night) 3 cups of yellow- eye dry beans. On Saturday morning, drain beans in a colander and put beans in a bean pot. In a mixing bowl, place:

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp salt

scant 1/2 tsp black pepper

2 heaping tsp dry mustard

Add to bowl lots of scalding hot water (4-5 cups) and stir the bean liquor well. Pour liquor over beans in good old- fashioned bean pot. Add 1/8 to 1/4 stick of real butter, plus one strip of uncooked bacon cut up in short pieces.

Add a small onion, if you like. I’ve decided over the years that onion, while it adds some taste, is not worth the tradeoff unless you live alone or with an old dog who loves you unconditionally.

Place pot with tight cover in 300 degree oven and cook 5 to 6 hours (check water level every hour or so and keep beans covered with water at all times). Remove pot cover during the last half hour or so to brown the beans. Suggestion: For ultimate North Woods dining experience, serve beans with venison steaks, Bakewell Cream biscuits or Brown Bread, cole slaw, beet pickles and cottage cheese.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal.He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of the weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].