Im making this for the first time and thought i would add some pics for your viewing pleasure.
Ill update it when im finished.
All the ingredients (except brown sugar, whoops, im using dark brown sugar)
My variations: 2 Maple, 1 Honey, went with Honey Chipotle Sweet Baby Rays as it seems to blend well with the recipe and using Chipotle instead of Cayenne.
Luckily i had some homemade apple pie filling from this fall. Looks like ill have some leftover.
After initial prep-work.
emmmmm.....bacon.
Almost ready to put it altogether
Ready to bake
Although i enjoyed the overall process, i thought the beans turned out to be too homogeneous. I dont lay blame on the recipe, perhaps it was my variations or technique, i found most of the ingredients lost their individuality when everything was said and done. And for that reason:
If i make these again i will definitely make these adjustments
1. Cook the bacon at the end, and simply saute' the green pepper and onion in butter. The reason for this is you hardly notice the bacon flavor, and the bacon becomes soggy enough after its baked that it, like the onion and green pepper, loses its profile in the midst of development.
A simple remedy is to cook the diced bacon at the end of baking and stir it into the beans before serving, not only will this promote a variety of texture ie. crisp bacon (something this recipe lacks imho) but the bacon itself will hold its flavor better.
2. I would also only saute the onion and pepper briefly, as the baking itself will help cook both.
3. I would cut your meat in about half inch by half inch cubes so they maintain a profile of their own, otherwise they like some other ingredients, may be overwhelmed by the whole.
4. Lastly i would only use normal beans, again to attempt and keep each ingredient alive.
my goal is to take a bite of the beans and every once in a while experience a crunch on some fresh bacon bits, taste a fresh burst of green pepper, notice a bit of onion on my fifth bite, enjoy the lusty smoked pork as a bystander not a conformist. Unfortunately, (not to be critical) this was not my experience....but like i said it could have just been technique
-And as a note i will also add, i took them to a potluck (someone else brought baked beans) and these were the favorite.