Baked beans

Posted on December 2nd, 2007 by Jeff

So we have all had baked beans. They come in a can and taste horrendous. These baked beans are simple, easy, and taste 100x better than anything from a can.

For this recipe we are going to need:

1 lb of dried great northern beans
2 cups of ketchup
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of molasses
1 tb of plain yellow mustard
1 tb of worcestershire sauce
2 tb of your favorite rub (if you need a recipe check out Pork Ribs on a WSM for a simple rub recipe)
1 tb of chili powder (I like to use ancho)
1 onion diced fine
2 cloves of garlic diced fine
9-10 slices of bacon (I perfer to use either applewood or hickory smoked bacon to add some more great flavor)

First thing first is the night before cover the dried beans with enough water to cover them by about 4 inches.

The next day drain the beans and place them in a large stockpot and use enough water to cover them by about 4 inches. Let this come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer till the beans are tender (about an hour). Drain the beans and reserve about two cups of the liquid they simmered in.

Place them in the bottom of an oven proof pan with the 2 cups of reserved liquid. Set aside for now.

Now it is time to create the sauce. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, rub, worcestershire sauce, molasses into a large bowl and stir to combine.

Pour and mix this sauce over top of the beans resting in the pan and stir to combine. Set aside again.

In a skillet place four strips of the bacon and cook till done.

Once the bacon has been cooked remove from the skillet and stir in the onion and garlic. Stir till softened (about 3-5 minutes).

Once the onions are soft add them to the bean mixture. Crumble in the cooked bacon and add this to the mixture. Place this mixture in the fridge for a couple hours (preferrable overnight if you can).

When you are ready to cook the beans preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the remaining bacon in strips over top of the bean mixture. If you have smoker space I also like to throw them on the smoker for an hour covered in foil and then another hour uncovered. Gives the beans a great smokey taste.