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Bourbon Barbecue Baked BeansBoston 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. RecipeYield. About 1 quart, about 8 servings of 1/2 cup each Ingredients Option. You can use all one type of bean. The beans in the photo were made with white kidneys only. Option. 1 teaspoon chili powder or ancho powder. Option. 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves (not powder). Option. 1 tart apple such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, peeled, cubed, and add it with the whiskey. Option. Substitute hot dogs for bacon and you have Beanie Weiners. Option. Substitute poblanos for bell peppers. Richer flavor and a little heat. Do this 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:
5) 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 1/15/2009
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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.
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