Bacon gives these baked beans their must-have smoky and meaty flavor. Slowly cooking the beans in the oven lets them gently cook while the sauce slowly thickens and becomes more complex. These are definitely the best barbequed baked beans!
What You’ll need:
- 1 pound bacon, cut into 1/4 inch slivers
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans
- 1 can (15oz) dark red kidney beans
- 3 cans (15 oz each) baked beans or pork and beans
- 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
- 1 poblano pepper or green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 to 6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (for hotter beans, leave the seeds in)
- 2 cups sweet red barbeque sauce such as St. Louis Red or your favorite commercial brand
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, or more to taste
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard, or more to taste
- 2 teasponns liquid smoke
- coarse salt and black pepper
Directions:
1. Place bacon in large skillet over medium heat and fry until crisp and golden brown. Pour off all the fat, saving a few tablespoons for the beans if desired.
2. Empty the cans of black and kidney beans into a colander and rinse, drain. Place all the beans in a large bowl with the onion, bell and poblano peppers, garlic, and jalapenos and stir to mix. Add the bbq sauce, brown sugar, mustard, liquid smoke, and fried bacon and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar or mustard if necessary and salt and pepper to taste. The beans should be very flavorful. Transfer the bean mixture to a casserole pan and drizzle a few tbsp of bacon fat if desired.
3. Can bake in oven at 350 for an hour or more or until thick and richly flavored or set up your grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium low. Can use wood chips for additional smoke flavor if desired.
Article Provided By: Justin Wilkes
