Baked Bean Recipes


 

ColinLP

New member
Here in the UK baked beans come in a tin with some sort of watery orange coloured sauce that has more to do with a laboratory than a tomato. Now I know baked beans have a better side to them than that, anyone got any pointers to an authentic/classic version, or even a really good recipe?
 
This is my take on "Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans." You can google the original recipe if you want. He has different peppers ( and more of them) in his. I think that many peppers take over the dish.
For a LARGE crowd.

8-10 strips of bacon cut into 1/2 inch squares
½ Medium onion, diced
1 - 2 Chipotles in adobo – seeded.
1 - 55 ounce can Bush’s Baked Beans
1-8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Cup ketchup
½ Tbs. dry (ground) mustard
1-2 Tbs. Texas Pit style BBQ sauce


For a sane number of people

5 strips of bacon cut into 1/2 inch squares
¼ - ½ Medium onion, diced
½ - 1 Chipotle in adobo – seeded.
1 – 28oz (or 2 12oz) ounce can Bush’s Beans
½ 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained
½ Cup Brown Sugar, packed
½ Cup ketchup
¼ Tbs. dry (ground) mustard
½ -1 Tbs. Texas Pit style BBQ sauce


Sauté bacon pieces in fry pan until crispy and remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Sauté onion and Chipotles until tender in the left over bacon fat.

In whatever you will be cooking them in (I use a 5 qt. stainless pot) combine everything, including the bacon and onion / chipotle mix. (While mixing if things look dry, add additional ketchup 1/4 -1/2 cup at a time)

Place in a 220-250° smoker for 2 1/2 – 3+ hours or more, make sure temperature of the baked beans reaches 165° for food safety. I cook mine under whatever meat I’m smoking – except for chicken. Add ketchup if they get too dry. Or place in a 350° oven and bake for 1 hour. If baking, you might want to add some liquid smoke.
Finish with a BBQ sauce



NOTE: If you are making these beans as a side dish for Kansas City style pork ribs, smoke the removed skirt meat for 1-1 1/2 hours, then dice the skirt meat and stir into the Baked Beans.


For those of you who plan on putting your LARGE crowd beans in a dutch oven (minus the lid) and then into the smoker; a single batch will fill a 10 inch regular dutch oven (4 quart) almost to the top. A batch will fill a 10 inch deep dutch oven (5 quart) with room enough for stirring without worrying about losing beans over the sides.
 
I'll have to try this one day. I tried to make some peach **** n beans last cook but the sorry brinkman cast iron I used left a disgusting taste in the beans - I threw that crap out.
 
Colin, here is my favorite:

Barbie's Down-South Smoked BBQ Beans

They freeze well too.

Or were you looking for a classic Boston Baked Bean recipe, a quicker version, or a version for the slow cooker?

Rita
When I saw the "Texas Pete Hot Sauce" reference I thought never happen in the UK but we can get it, amazingly! I will most definitely give this a go too, it sounds great.

What kind of baked beans is it would seem the question. I rather stupidly thought perhaps there was a traditional American baked bean recipe which is a bit like thinking is there a traditional curry recipe in India! Having done a little more research I know see there are loads of recipes, regional / favourites etc. I guess I must mean your favourite recipe or what you think makes a great recipe, Jeez lets face it anything is better that what we get over here; if you ever come here DO NOT have beans on toast, it will traumatize you for life!
 
Yup! Keri's Hog Apple Beans are the best ever! All my friends de4mand that I bring them to parties and I can't tell you how many times I've passed around the recipe!
 
Passed down through the family since the '60s, uses beans from a can with that orange sauce!


1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, finely minced
32 oz of canned baked beans (the recipe says Campbell's, I used Bush's because I already had them)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 small pinch thyme
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Brown meat in a skillet. Drain off grease and transfer meat to a casserole dish. Saute pepper, onion, and celery until limp/translucent, add garlic and saute another minute or two, and add to the beef. Mix the remaining ingredients (except beans) in a small jar; cap it, shake it, and add the mix to the beef. Stir thoroughly. Fold in the baked beans. Cover the casserole and bake at 350* for an hour.
 
I rather stupidly thought perhaps there was a traditional American baked bean recipe which is a bit like thinking is there a traditional curry recipe in India!
I would break it down to three basic types...

1) Boston Baked Beans (Beantown, you know!)
I grew up with these and they are my core favorite.

2) BBQ Baked Beans
These use a BBQ sauce in the recipe.
Probably the most prevalent in the US and the most sweet of the three

3) Cowboy Beans
These are the least sweet and make me think of what it must have been like out on the range, back in the day...



Cowboy Bacon Beans

Ingredients:

4 cups dry pinto beans
1 pound thick cut bacon, cut into pieces
2 whole green bell pepper, diced
1 whole med-sized onion, diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBSP mustard
1 TBSP chili powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Rinse beans in cold water

In a heavy pot (cast iron pref), saute the bacon pieces until halfway cooked and drain off grease
Add the green peppers and onions to to pot and cook until starting to get brown (a few minutes)
Add the beans and cover with water by 1 inch
Bring to a boil and then add the brown sugar, ketchup, mustard,chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with lid and cook until the beans are tender and the liquid is thick.
About 3-4 hours

Yield : 8-10 servings


My notes : (optional ingredients)

Red bell pepper for color
Medium size Jalapeno, diced
Bump black pepper to 1 TBSP
Chipotle chili powder
 
Last edited:
Passed down through the family since the '60s, uses beans from a can with that orange sauce!


1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, finely minced
32 oz of canned baked beans (the recipe says Campbell's, I used Bush's because I already had them)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 small pinch thyme
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Brown meat in a skillet. Drain off grease and transfer meat to a casserole dish. Saute pepper, onion, and celery until limp/translucent, add garlic and saute another minute or two, and add to the beef. Mix the remaining ingredients (except beans) in a small jar; cap it, shake it, and add the mix to the beef. Stir thoroughly. Fold in the baked beans. Cover the casserole and bake at 350* for an hour.

We do something very similar with sausage instead of ground beef.
 
I've made Cliff Bartlett's Root Beer Baked Beans a few times and really enjoy them.

Cliff’s Baked Beans

Root Beer Baked Beans

3 bacon slices
1 small onion, diced
2 (16-ounce) cans L.S Tri bean blend
1/2 cup root beer (not diet)*
1/4 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce* I used Stubbs bourbon hickory
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce. I used Sriracha 1 tbs.

Preparation

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.

Sauté diced onion in hot bacon drippings in skillet over high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir together onion, crumbled bacon, beans, and remaining ingredients in a lightly greased 1-quart baking dish.

Bake beans, uncovered, at 400° for 55 minutes or until sauce is thickened

* If using a crock pot use ¾ cup root beer and 1/3 cup BBQ sauce.
 
One of my favorite recipes is Steven Reichlin's Smokehouse Beans. I made them last weekend for the July 4 holiday.

http://barbecuebible.com/recipe/smokehouse-beans/

6 ounces bacon, cut into 1/4-inch slivers
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-ounce cans great northern or kidney beans, drained and rinsed in a colander
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed in a colander
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup molasses, or to taste
1/4 cup your favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup beer or water, or more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Step 1: In a heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium heat to render the fat, about 5 minutes. Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat.

Step 2: Add the onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, sugar, molasses, barbecue sauce, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, mustards, vinegar, and liquid smoke. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3: Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and preheat to 225 degrees. Add the wood as specified by the manufacturer.

Step 4: Smoke the beans, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, about 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. (Add more beer or water as needed if beans seem too dry.)

The only changes I made to the above recipe:
I used 15 oz can EACH of black bean, Cannellini bean, pinto bean and Great Northern beans. All were drained and rinsed.
I only used 1 T of vinegar rather than 2 T.
I used 1/2 cup of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.
I added 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced small.

I cooked them on a gas grill uncovered at 225 deg for 2 1/2 hours on indirect heat with hickory wood chips. I stirred the beans twice during the cook.
 
using your favorite canned beans add your favorite breakfast sausage cooked with some onions then add them along with a good amount of real maple syrup , heat and eat
 
using your favorite canned beans add your favorite breakfast sausage cooked with some onions then add them along with a good amount of real maple syrup , heat and eat

Yep!. I usually brown some JD's maple but yesterday I had a leftover point that needed some attention. Diced up a large sweet onion and a large bell pepper and added that to the bottom of the slow cooker. Set that on high, and cubed the point into large chunks and added that along with the leftover demi-glaze and added a generous amount of sea salt and about 25 twists on the pepper mill. Let that go for a few hrs till the meat rendered, then added 2 big cans of Bush's maple beans and a small can of canneli's, ranch black beans, and butter beans.
Man, what a glorious, tasty and soupy mess that was! Served that as a side with some grilled honey garlic chops.

Tim
 
We've been making these about 20 years now and have never served them to friends who did not ask for the recipe (it's the smoker)!

Best Ever Baked Beans
Recipe from “Cook’n Cajun Water Smoker Cookbook” by Sondra Hester.
Serves 8 to 10

4 to 5 lbs. canned pork and beans
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped bell pepper (red is prettier and better in leftover beans)
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup molasses [NOT blackstrap molasses]
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 drops Tabasco
1/2 cup bottled or homemade barbecue sauce
1/2 cup catsup
2 strips uncooked bacon, cut in half

Combine all ingredients, except bacon, in large ovenproof container. Lay bacon strips on top. Place on smoker grid and smoke for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Note from me: If you don’t have a smoker, you can cook at about 350F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the bacon is curling. Better flavor in a smoker, but divine beans without!
 
I've been making Alton Brown's baked beans for a few years.... add another 2-3 cups of water or vegetable stock and smoke them under a brisket..... YUM.
 

 

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