Canned baked beans have nothing on this flavor-rich recipe for bourbon bbq baked beans.
This recipe below is more Southern than Boston Baked Beans, sweeter, 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.
Recipe Overview: BBQ Baked Beans Success Formula
- Chop: the onions, bell pepper, and jalapeño. Rinse and drain canned white kidney beans.
- Cook: the bacon but don’t let it get crispy and render all its fat. Drain it on paper towels and cut into bite-size pieces. Pour off the fat from the pan except for a couple of tablespoons.
- Cook: the onions and peppers in the bacon fat, then add stock or water and everything else except the bacon.
- Cook: the beans. There are four ways to do this. You can do it in the oven, on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, or on your grill or smoker.
- Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cook it longer if you want it thicker. Add water if you want it thinner.
- Serve: the baked beans immediately, nice and hot.
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The science behind BBQ baked beans
The beans can be made in a few different ways in our recipe, and it involves the slow cooker, the oven, stovetop, or the grill or smoker. All produce excellent baked beans.
There is an alternative prep, and a lot of rib joints make their BBQ 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 rib joints put their bean pans under the meat in their smokers and let the drippings fall into the stew, bringing with them flavor from the rub seasonings, fat, and smoke. This is a great technique, but it is easy to over smoke them, so leave them in the smoker for only 2 to 3 hours on your first try.
Ingredients and substitutions for BBQ baked beans
- Thick-cut bacon creates the sweet-savory-smoky foundation for these baked beans. It also won’t burn as quickly because it’s thick, and that’s important because the bacon can’t get too crispy so you can take scissors or a knife to it and cut it up. You can use hot dogs, cut up, if you want, and you have Beanie Weenies.
- Onions are cooked in bacon fat to further deepen the earthy, sweet, and savory balance.
- Bell pepper brings a bit of sharp vegetal bitterness, a slightly different texture, and some color contrast to baked beans.
- Jalapeño pepper is optional here if you like heat. It’ll make it spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. Remove the seeds to soften the blow. You can substitute poblanos for the bell pepper, for richer flavor and a little heat.
- Water or stock is needed for these baked beans. Stock makes everything better but it’s not essential. The water will take on the flavor of everything you add to the beans.
- White kidney beans are what we use. They are bigger, hold their shape better, and a bit nutty. White beans also tend to easily absorb the flavors of what they’re cooked with. You can use different beans if you wish.
- You can also use 3/4 cup/177.4ml of dried beans, but they must be soaked. Dried beans may take longer to cook than canned depending on the type you use, their size, how long you soaked them, how old they were when you bought them, and how you cook them. The recipe calls for three cans totaling about 45 ounces. Curious? Check out my article on the science of beans.
- Raisins. I know, you’re skeptical. Trust me. They add some hits of sweetness that make these baked beans what they are.
- Barbecue sauce, specifically Kansas City-style, adds just the right balance of sweet and savory.
- Molasses blends well and easily with the other ingredients in this recipe and deepens and adds complexity to the sweet elements. Brown sugar also works here, but molasses is best. You can read the nitty-gritty on this at the science of sugars, syrups, sweeteners, and sugar substitutes.
- Kentucky Bourbon or Tennessee whiskey bring on some caramel or vanilla notes to baked beans, but it won’t make the beans sweeter.
- Dry mustard incorporates well with liquid ingredients and adds the punch and hit of mustard without the vinegar.
- Morton’s Coarse Kosher Salt is forever my go-to pick for salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. If you’re curious, the science of salt can explain it better.
- Finely ground black pepper seasons the dish with a bit of pungency and pep needed to balance the sweeter aspects.
- Bay leaf, of course, works in dishes beyond marinara sauce. It’s one of those easy ingredients that make everything work better together in your recipe. Here, it adds a subtle herbal depth to baked beans. Just remove it before serving.
BBQ baked beans, step by step
- Coarsely chop the onion and peppers. Drain and rise the beans.
- Cook the bacon over medium heat in a Dutch oven but don’t let it get too crispy. Remove from the pan and drain it on paper towels on top of newspaper (or brown paper bags). When it’s cool, cut the bacon into bite sizes pieces.
- Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat into a coffee cup and let it cool. Before it hardens, transfer it to a glass jar or plastic container, and stick it in the fridge. Cooking with bacon fat makes everything taste better!
- Cook the onion and peppers in the remaining bacon fat until they wilt. Add hot water or stock, and the rest of the ingredients, including the already cooked bacon.
- Then, cook them one of four ways.
- On the grill/smoker: Smoke meat at the same time and put them below the meat for about 2 to 3 hours at 225°F (107.2°C). They’ll collect flavorful, smoky drippings from the meat. Just be sure they don’t burn.
- In the oven: Put the pot uncovered in your oven for 2 hours at 225°F (107.2°C). 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.
- In a slow cooker: Set it to medium, which should be about 250°F (121.1°C) and check them in about 2 hours.
- Remove the bay leaf and taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. If you want it thinner, add water. For thicker beans, let it cook longer. Serve immediately while hot.
BBQ baked beans FAQs
What parts of the country like sweet beans?
If you are from Texas or South Carolina or New Orleans, you might not like these beans because they are sweet. That’s the way the rest of the nation likes beans. Sorry. You need to try my recipe for Grannie’s Texas Beans or Hoppin’ John or Red Beans & Rice.
What goes with these beans?
Other than serving with BBQ meats, rice goes with beans! Speaking of rice, my Hoppin John and Red Beans & Rice recipes are excellent examples of how well beans go with rice. For a surprise, serve this recipe with white rice. This recipe is certain to become a favorite BBQ and grilling side dish.
What can I add to baked beans?
My recipe has bacons, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño (if you want heat), raisins, molasses, whiskey, dry mustard, Kansas City-style BBQ sauce, and salt and pepper.
If you like, you can add a teaspoon American chili powder or ancho powder and/or 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves (not the powder). Use a tart apple such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, peeled and cubed, and add it with the whiskey.
If you like this BBQ baked beans recipe, you’ll love . . .
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- Texas Butter Beans and Pinto Beans Just Like Granny Made
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Bourbon bbq baked beans recipe
Bourbon Barbecue Baked Beans Recipe
Take one bite of these bourbon BBQ baked beans, you will never again settle for sub-par canned beans.
Ingredients
Method
- Prep. Coarsely chop the onions, bell pepper, and jalapeño (or opt to leave the jalapeño out if you don't like heat). Drain and rinse the can of beans.
- Cook the bacon. Make sure you are using a 2 quart (1.9 L) 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 for the cook to eat when nobody is watching. Drain the bacon by putting it on 2 layers of paper towels on top of a section of the local newspaper. When it is cool enough to handle, chop it into bite-sized chunks.
- 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!
- Add the onions and peppers to the pot and cook them until they wilt. If the bacon bits stuck to the bottom start to get too dark, add an ounce of water and they will dissolve promptly with the help of a wooden or silicone spoon.
- Add 3 cups (709.8 ml) of hot water or stock and everything else including the bacon. There are four good ways to cook these beans:On your grill/smoker. If you have a smoker, put them below the meat for about 2 to 3 hours at 225°F (107.2°C). 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 225°F (107.2°C). 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. In a slow cooker. Set it to medium, which should be about 250°F (121.1°C) and check them in about 2 hours./tested-recipes/beans-recipes/science-beans
- 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.
- Serve. Serve the baked beans immediately while still hot.
Notes
About the beans. You can use three cans of different beans if you wish. You can use use 3/4 cup/177.4ml of dried beans, but remember they must be soaked. Dried beans may take longer to cook than canned depending on the type you use, their size, how long you soaked them, and how you cook them. Click here to read my article, The Science of Beans, for tips on working with dried beans. If you plan to use dried beans, follow the instructions there for soaking them.
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. About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works. Optional add-ins. Add 1 teaspoon American 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.
About the peppers. Substitute poblanos for bell peppers. Richer flavor and a little heat. About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works. Optional add-ins. Add 1 teaspoon American 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.
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