AmazingRibs.com, The Zen of Barbecue & Grilling masthead

barbecue baked beans

Bourbon Barbecue Baked Beans

Boston Baked Beans is the US national bean dish and it is so popular that Boston is known as Beantown. It is the perfect accompaniment for barbecue. Properly made, it includes Navy beans (white kidney beans) sweetened with molasses, studded with fatback, and baked in a stonewear crock or Dutch oven. The recipe is probably descended from the French bean and meat stew, cassoulet.

This recipe below is more Southern than Boston, and will make the best baked beans you've ever had, certain to wow your guests. OK, I know there's a lotta stuff in this recipe, but when you consider that baked beans are really a stew, and stews get complexity from, well, stewing, I say the more stuff, the merrier. The important thing is that it's quick and easy to assemble. Lotsa stuff, little fuss. Besides, nothing that has bacon in it can be bad.

There is an alternative prep, and a lot of rib joints make their beans this way: They take the unsold ribs from yesterday, scrape the meat off the bone, and use it instead of the bacon. Some even add scraps from their other meats. The best ribjoints put their bean pans under the meat in their smokers and let the drippings fall into the stew bringing with them floavor from the rub seasonings, fat, and smoke.

Alert: If you are from Texas, you might not like these beans because they are sweet. That's the way the rest of the nation likes its beans. Sorry. You need to try this recipe.

Recipe

Yield. About 12 servings
Preparation time. 20 minutes
Cooking time. 45 minutes or more

Ingredients
6 strips of thick cut bacon
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarsley chopped
1 jalapeño, or more or less to your taste, coarsley chopped
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1/4 pound dried red kidney beans
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1/4 pound dried white kidney beans
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1/4 pound dried black beans
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup Kansas City style BBQ sauce
4 tablespoons molasses, any grade
1/4 cup Kentucky Bourbon or Tennessee whiskey
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf (try not to leave this out)

About the beans. You can use all one type of bean. The beans in the photo were made with white kidneys only.

About the bacon. Substitute hot dogs for bacon and you have Beanie Weenies.

About the peppers. Substitute poblanos for bell peppers. Richer flavor and a little heat.

Optional add-ins. Add 1 teaspoon chili powder or ancho powder and/or 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves (not powder). Add 1 tart apple such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, peeled, cubed, and add it with the whiskey.

Do this
1) Click here to read my article, The Zen of Beans, for tips on working with beans and equivalents for dry, canned, and cooked beans. Decide which you will use. If you plan to use dried beans, follow the instructions there for soaking them. If you plan to use canned beans, move on to the next step.

2) Make sure you are using a 2 quart or larger pot or Dutch oven. Cook the bacon over a medium heat. When it begins to brown, flip it, brown the other side, but remove it before it renders all its fat and gets hard. We want bacon that we can cut, not crumble. You will probably need to do the bacon in two batches. And what the heck, go ahead and cook an extra slice or two and eat it when nobody is watching.

3) Add the onions and peppers and cook them until they wilt.

4) Pour off the bacon fat into a coffee cup leaving behind about 2 tablespoons and most of the brown bits dissolved in the fat. When the fat in the cup begins to cool, but before it hardens, move it to a plastic tub and store it in the fridge. You can use this later for cooking onions or veggies. Nothing perks up broccoli like bacon fat!

5) Add everything else. There are three good ways to cook these beans:

  • On your grill/smoker. If you have a smoker, put them below the meat for about 3 hours at 225F. They will collect flavorful, smoky drippings from the meat laden with seasoning from the rub. Just be sure they don't burn.
  • In your oven. Put the pot in your oven uncovered for 2 hours at 250F. Stir every 30 minutes to make sure they don't burn.
  • On the stovetop. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and then turn it back to simmer for 30 minutes without a lid. Stir and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes to prevent burning and sticking. Try to keep the bay leaf submerged.

6) Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust the flavors as you see fit. If you like it spicier, add hot sauce. Add more molasses if you like it sweeter, or salt if you think it needs it. Cook it longer if you want it thicker, or add water if you want it thinner.

This page was revised 12/14/2009


Tell Meathead what you think or ask him a question

Agree? Disagree? Suggestions? Questions? Or discuss among yourselves. I read all these posts. Please remember to respect the opinions of others and please don't post promotional info.

This new feature was installed on 2/24/2010.


Barbecue Accessories


Important Info About This Website

AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spare ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, smoked turkey, steak, lamb, barbecue sauces, rubs, and side dishes, with the net's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn.

Barbecue Hot Stuff AwardsAbout Product Reviews and Meathead's Hot Stuff Awards. Meathead's Hot Stuff Awards are highly recommended products that I have tested personally or that have been tested by reliable sources. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Rest assured that when I recommend a product, it is really because I like it, not because someone has paid me to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. I purchase most products I review although occasionally suppliers send me samples.

About links on this site. Other than clearly marked ads, links and recommendations on this site are all products, services, and websites I truly admire, and are never paid endorsements. Your suggestions are always welcome. If you would like me to link to your website, click here to read my links policy first.

Meathead's Personal Privacy Promise. I promise to never sell or distribute any info about you individually without your express permission, and I promise not to, ahem, pepper you with email or make you eat spam. Click here for more details of my privacy promise.

Copyright © 2010 by Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn. Unless otherwise noted, all text, recipes, photos, and code are owned by Meathead and fully protected by US copyright law. This means you need my written permission to publish or distribute anything on this website. But I'm easy. To get reprint rights, click here. Note: Some photos of commercial products such as grills were provided by the manufacturers and under their copyright.





Meathead the Barbecue Lover Cartoon
Get news, tips, & recipes in Smoke Signals, Meathead's free eletter. No spam. Guaranteed.

Keep this site free!

barbecue hatHelp Meathead pay for this web site. With a $25 donation you'll get a 100% cotton, brushed twill, adjustable, low profile cap with the patch sewn on. Click here for more info and pictures of the hat. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets.


Meathead's Faves

These recommendations are not ads. They are unsolicited endorsements.

GrillGrates Take Your Grill Into the Infrared Zone

Hot Stuff Barbecue AwardGrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper.

They sit on top of your current grill's grates. The hard anodized aircraft grade aluminum rail tops are flat and wide and make perfect dark crunchy grill marks. The base superheats yet eliminates hot spots and blocks flareups. This is the same concept behind the expensive new infrared grills.

Juices drip in the valleys between the rails and are vaporized and penetrate the meat enhancing flavor. I throw wood between the rails and they impart a delicate smoke flavor. I have made my best steaks and burgers ever with Grill Grates. This is a really great new product! Click here to read more and for ordering info.

grill grates

The Smokenator

If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to get steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more and for ordering info.

Weber Barbecue Smokenator

The Weber Smokey Mountain

Weber Smokey Mountaain Barbecue Grill

I am a big fan of the Weber Smokey Mountain Smokers. Click here to read my review.

Click here to order the 18.5" WSMbarbecue or the 22.5" WSMbarbecue from Amazon.


Save this link to
support this site

http://tinyurl.com/yazmwlq

This link takes you to Amazon.com and tags anything you buy with my affiliate code so I get a small referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. Low prices, fast delivery (often free), good refund policies, and often there is no sales tax, are the best reasons to buy from Amazon.com, but clicking on that link before you shop helps me devote more time and money to you. Thanks!




Free Shipping on all Items
Get free standard shipping when you order $150 or more from Kansas City Steak Company.
La Cense Beef