These baked beans will be the hit of the back yard BBQ or just a weeknight burger or hot dog night. Sweet and tangy sauce, made from dark brown sugar, ketchup and mustard, doctors up plain ole' pork and beans into something memorable. Bring these the next time you have to bring a "side" to the party, everyone will rave!
Estimated Time 3 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Servings 10Servings
Here's What You Need
4 @ 15 ouncecanspork and beans
3slicessmoked bacon - sliced into 1" pieces
1mediumyellow onion - chopped
½green pepper - chopped
3clovesgarlic - minced
½ to 1 canwater
Fixins'
½cupdark brown sugar
½cupketchup
2tablespoonsyellow mustard
2tablespoonsWorcestershire Sauce
Pinchkosher salt
Here's What You Do
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Chop all the vegetables and set aside. Mix the fixins' in a small bowl making sure to break up any lumps from the brown sugar. Set the fixins' aside.
In an oven-safe heavy dutch oven with a lid, fry the bacon over medium high heat until almost crispy and plenty of fat has been rendered, then remove from the pan leaving the bacon grease. Lower the heat to medium low and sauté the onions and peppers in the bacon grease until starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and stir until aromatic.
Add the beans and mix all together. Increase the heat until it comes to a simmer for a few minutes.
While it's simmering, fill one of the cans with water, and pour from can to can to get all the juice out, then set it aside.
Mix in the fixins' and combine completely. Add about ½ can of the water and increase the heat to bring it to a boil, set the remaining water aside. Cook on a slow boil for about 5 minutes. Add back the bacon.
Place in a 300 degree oven, covered for about three hours total. Stir every hour or so making sure to scrape the beans off the side and bottom, Add more water from the reserved can depending on how thick you like your beans.
Notes
To save time:1.) use saved bacon grease from prior cooked bacon2.) you can use vegetable or olive oil instead of bacon3.) saute' onions and bell peppers just until clear, don't take them all the way to caramelization.4.) skip the baking-just simmer on low, coveredon top of the stove for 30 minutes or however long you have.5.) cook fully or partially a day in advance.