Baked Barbecue Beans

 It is easy to grab a can of those commercial beans at the supermarket and toss them into a sauce pan and heat them up.  I'm not knocking it; we all have done that at one point of other in our busy lives while preparing meals for our families.  But if there is extra time available, why not prepare baked beans with a little more love, and a lot less sugar than is contained in our favorite store-bought brands?

It starts with the choice of beans.  I mean after all, they are the star of the show! You can use any kind of bean variety that you like, though the canned variety most often use Great Northern beans.  I prefer red beans personally, because they have a bit more texture and heft to them, which means more flavor to me.  I prefer them dried and soaked in water overnight, but if pressed for time, a couple of low sodium canned red beans, liquid drained are a suitable alternative.  If using dried beans, don't salt the soaking or the cooking water, because that can toughen up the red beans.

Preparations:

Drain the soaked beans and place them in a pot of fresh water, bringing them to a boil in a medium large pot.  Some folks like to add pork shoulder or some type of smoked meat with onions in this step, but I prefer to control the amount of fat.  But that's an option available.  Turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour.  While the beans are simmering, the ingredients for the sauce may now be prepared.

You'll need:

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper (optional), seeded and diced

3-4  strips thick cut bacon, diced

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1-1/2  cups of barbecue sauce, any variety (less sugar varieties are best)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce 

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sauté the diced bacon in a large pan until the fat renders, then add the chopped onions and peppers, heating until the onions are clear.  In a separate bowl combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine, then pour the prepared sauce into the pan, stirring until incorporated.  Let it come to a simmer, but do not reduce.

Drain the beans and pour them into a large casserole dish. Pour over the prepared sauce from the pan and combine well in the dish.  The sauce will appear a little thin at this point. If you are adventurous, strips of bacon may be laid over the beans, but it's totally optional. Place the dish in the oven, uncovered for about two hours, or until the sauce has reduced.

At the end of this time the casserole dish may removed.  The excess liquid should now be reduced and the beans nestled in their thick sauce.  Spoon out and garnish with parsley next to your smoked or barbecued meat of choice.  It's so much better tasting than the old canned standbys! 

Easy Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs

 

Nothing really says summer like smoking, grilling or barbecuing ribs in the back yard or on the patio.  But let's face it, mother nature sometimes doesn't want to cooperate.  You have that taste for ribs, but it is rainy, too cold, or as often is the case here in Arizona summers, the temperature is too hot, over 110 degrees.  Who wants to cook outdoors in those conditions?

But there is an easy alternative, even in the most inclement of conditions - our kitchen ovens.  I like baby back ribs because they are more meaty, but spareribs will also turn out great in this recipe. As for dry rubs, there are many, from your favorite bottled dry rubs to home made.  And if those don't suit your tastes, even salt and pepper will work great.  Below I'll list the ingredients that I like to use for my custom dry rub.

Preparation: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Pork ribs a have a membrane on the bone side that I like to remove.  Some keep it on, but I find that my ribs come out more tender when this silver skin is removed.  To remove it, use a butter knife and push it under the membrane alongside one of the bones near the end of the rack.  Give it a tug up, then grasp the membrane with a paper towel and pull it away from the ribs.  Then pat the rack dry on both sides.

For a spice binder when I'm smoking outdoors I like to use plain old yellow mustard, spread lightly across both sides of the ribs. For indoor cooking, olive oil will give the ribs a nice crispy crust.  Use a brush to coat the ribs on both sides.

The Rub:

There are some great commercial dry rubs easily available in the supermarket.  I have used them, and have even used Old Bay, which works great too.  My favorite scratch-made rub is as follows:

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Procedure:

Season the oiled ribs generously on both sides with the rub.  Place the ribs on a large cookie sheet over aluminum foil, do not cover.  Bake the ribs on a middle rack for two hours at 350 degrees.  At the end of that time, carefully removed the ribs from the foil and replace it with new foil.  Turn up the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

While the oven heats up, place the ribs back on the cookie sheet and liberally brush on your favorite barbecue sauce. When the oven is at temperature place the ribs back in the oven for ten minutes.  Set a timer for this so it's not left in too long.

Now set the oven to broil and place the ribs on the top rack for three minutes.  It might be helpful set the timer once again.  Pull the ribs out and let them rest for a few minutes; they will be very hot.

Brush on more barbecue sauce and enjoy with baked barbecue beans and a creamy, crisp coleslaw.  These ribs are not the fall off the bone variety, but they are very tender.