May 20, 2011

Barbecued Baked Beans

These classic baked beans are a barbecue side-dish staple. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2011 BBQ issue.

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 6–8

10 slices bacon, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cups barbecue sauce

1¼ cups dark brown sugar

1 cup beef stock

1 cup leftover chopped beef brisket or pulled pork

¼ cup molasses

1 tbsp. dry mustard

2 tsp. kosher salt

⅛ tsp. ground cloves

4 15-oz. cans navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 16-oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 325°. Heat bacon in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring, until its fat renders, about 6 minutes. Add onion, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add sauce, sugar, stock, meat, molasses, mustard, salt, cloves, beans, tomatoes, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover pot and place in oven; bake until thick and fragrant, about 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #139

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Ratings & Reviews (4)

by GLUTTONFORLIFE on 2011-05-27

I'd love to see a recipe that starts with dried beans...

by DANIELBARWICK on 2011-06-01

These are very good - a couple of things: above all, this recipe is very sweet. I typically cut the barbecue sauce in half and most people still comment about how sweet the recipe is. If I'm using pulled pork that already is saturated with barbecue sauce, I cut the barbecue sauce by a couple more tablespoons. Second, because the barbecue sauce is a dominant flavor in this dish, use a good one with a little kick, like Dinosaur Barbecue original. Third, a potato masher works perfectly for mashing the tomatoes right in the pot (add the tomatoes before any of the other liquid ingredients, and mash them roughly). Finally, one clove of garlic, minced, adds a nice dimension.

by LACAMEMBER on 2011-06-14

I made this with coffee barbecue sauce from the same issue and it was delicious. Of the many side dishes we had served that day this one got the most raves. Many guests said it was the best barbecued beans they had ever had.