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 doctors up plain ole' pork and beans into something memorable.
1 ½cupsgreen pepper - chopped-about 1 medium pepper
2tablespoonsgarlic - minced-about 3 cloves
15ounceswater - See Notes
Fixins'
½cupbrown sugar - light or dark
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 heat until almost crispy and plenty of fat has been rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Make sure to leave the bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
Continuing on medium heat, sauté the yellow onions and peppers in the bacon grease until starting to caramelize. Don't rush this step, it will take about 20 minutes. See NOTES.
Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the beans and mix well. Increase the heat until it comes to a simmer for a few minutes.
While it's simmering, fill one of the cans with water. Pour the water from can to can to capture all the juice. Set aside. See NOTES.
Add 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 simmer for about 5 minutes. Add back some or all of 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
If you are short on time, follow these tips and still have delicious baked beans:1.) use saved bacon grease from prior cooked bacon2.) you can use vegetable or olive oil instead of bacon3.) sauté the onions and bell peppers just until clear, don't take them all the way to caramelization.4.) skip the baking-just simmer on top of the stove (low heat, covered) for at least 30 minutes or however long you have.5.) cook fully or partially a day in advance.Taking the time to caramelize the onions is an important flavor-building step. Keep the heat at medium and stir regularly, making sure the onions don't burn. Add as much or as little water as you need to reach your preferred thicknessLeftover baked beans can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and in the freezer for up to two months. Make sure the beans cool down before refrigerating or freezing. Store them in an airtight container for best quality. Thaw them in the fridge overnight if frozen. Reheat in the microwave, on top of the stove or in the oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 to 20 minutes or until heated all the way through.